


Sonic Boom: Subterfuge

by Akcire92



Category: Sonic Boom (Cartoon), Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Blood and Torture, Consensual Sex, Disfigurement, F/M, Fire, Implied Sexual Content, Parent Death, Past Character Death, Psychic Abilities, Sexual Content, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2018-08-15 01:02:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 37,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8036182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akcire92/pseuds/Akcire92
Summary: A more mature take on the Sonic Boom series with violent and sad backstories, lore changes and original characters. Most deaths are in the past and part of the backstory. Violence and torture are themes in this story, but not a major focus. Character development is top priority. All sexual themes, implied or otherwise is all consensual.





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Early chapters are tame, but the story will gradually work up to violence and sexual themes. All sexual themes, implied or otherwise is all consensual.

The thick forest of Bygone Island was mostly quiet except for the occasional chirping of birds. A blue object rushed by, causing the foliage to move as though the wind had blown. It came to a stop, revealing itself to actually be Sonic the hedgehog. He leaned against a nearby tree and looked carefully around the area, he seemed as though he was waiting for something.  
Shadow the Hedgehog had followed him, still angry about losing to Sonic several days before. He was planning on ambushing Sonic now that he was alone, but before Shadow could pounce, someone appeared. From his vantage point, Shadow could see both sides of the tree that Sonic was leaned against. A hooded figure appeared suddenly in a strange light-blue colored smoke, leaning against the same tree on the direct opposite side. It was clear that it was a female, her black dress along with the matching top which modestly shaped her breast signified that fact. Her face was cover by a black mask, indicating that she did not want her identity revealed and was perhaps a mercenary.  
“It’s not often that you call on me,” she spoke. Her voice was soft, yet there was a serious and menacing tone about her.  
“Things are starting to get out of hand,” Sonic replied.  
“Yes, I heard about your crew’s scuffle with that band of idiots that call themselves villains,”  
“I don’t doubt that, you seem to know everything, Mirage,”  
“I have my ways about these things,” Mirage replied.  
“I know, that’s exactly why I need you,”  
“Need an extra set of eyes and ears?”  
“He can’t pull anymore stunts like that, it puts everyone in too much danger,”  
“Cautious as ever I see,” Mirage commented.  
Sonic sighed, “Old habits die hard, I guess.”  
“I think it’s good that you’re opening up to other people now,” Mirage said kindly, “Christmonians like you need a group.”  
“This isn’t time for philosophy Mirage,” Sonic returned, “but speaking of opening up, when did you plan on getting around to that yourself?”  
“My job doesn’t allow much of a social life,” Mirage replied, “besides, you were always more outgoing than me.”  
“Are you going to do this job for me?” Sonic was desperate to change the subject.  
“Of course,”  
“What kind of compensation did you have in mind?”  
“The usual,”  
“Mirage, that’s not enough for a job like this,” Sonic argued.  
“Nonsense,” Mirage returned, “I shouldn’t charge you anything in my opinion, but you won’t allow that.”  
“You don’t owe me for what I did back then,” Sonic insisted.  
“Yes I do,”  
“UGH!” Sonic grunted unhappily, “Fine.”  
“I’ll be in touch,” Mirage remarked, disappearing as she had appeared.  
Now Shadow was confused, the two seemed to already know each other somehow. The term she used, ‘Christmonian’ what was that? For a moment, Shadow struggled trying to decide which of them to follow, Sonic or Mirage. He finally settled on going after Mirage, curious to know what she was doing and this might be Shadow’s only chance to find out. Sonic was long gone by now, so Shadow approached the tree. When he came close enough, Shadow could sense the reminisce of Mirage’s power. Something felt familiar about it, and although Shadow couldn’t actually see the light-blue colored smoke anymore, he could feel it somehow. The color seemed so much more pronounced to him as he felt it around him that it had when he had seen it moments ago. How was this possible? The only other power he felt like this was Sonic’s. Was there more people out there with abilities like the two of them?  
Shadow lifted his hand to where he felt the presence of the light-blue power the most and absorbed it, making it visible again for just a slight second. Shadow attempted to use the power for his own, causing him to teleport feet away.  
“That’s why this power feels familiar to me!” Shadow realized, “I have been absorbing it all along. If it has been the power of this ‘Mirage’ that I have been absorbing all this time, then I know her travel routes.”  
It wasn’t long before Shadow found Mirage, skulking around Eggman’s lair. From the conversation she had just made with Sonic, it was obvious she was here, but Shadow was more interested in where she came from. He had followed the lingering feeling of her power around trying to find where she stayed, but to no avail. At several points, he simply could not feel that light-blue light anymore. So here he was, watching Mirage keep an eye on Eggman, waiting for her to leave for the day so he could trail after her.  
After Eggman had called it a night, so did Mirage and she began to leave the small island for now. Shadow followed close enough behind that he was not noticed by her, or so he thought. Once they were in a secluded area, Mirage disappeared into the light-blue smoke as she had before. She didn’t leave though, suddenly Shadow felt like he had been engulfed in a blue flame, but there was no visible fire. The feeling was calming and peaceful and he turned around to find Mirage standing behind him.  
“You’ve been watching me all day,” Mirage spoke. Shadow had a hard time finding words, the calming feeling was overwhelming him. “What’s wrong, have you not been this close to a turquoise before? No wonder you’ve been following me.”  
“What did you do to me?” Shadow asked.  
“Nothing,” Mirage answered, “You are simply feeling the effect of my aura, you will adjust to it shortly.”  
“Aura?”  
“Everyone has an aura,” Mirage explained, “But Christmonians like you and me have much stronger auras than normal people and because of that we gain psychic abilities.”  
“What is a Christmonian and why do you think I am one?”  
“Poor thing, you don’t even know what you are,”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“Over 100 years ago, Mobians with strong auras where banished to an uninhabited island because they were feared by others. On this island it always snowed and was called Christmas Island and those who lived and were born there were known as Christmonians,” Mirage explained. “But there is very few of us now-a-days and the term is used to describe anyone with enhanced aura and psychic abilities. We can feel each other’s aura; I can sense yours as easily as you can sense mine.”  
“So you’ve known all along I was following you?”  
“Of course, I won’t be good at my job otherwise,” Mirage replied, “I just let you be because I know your curiosity is only natural. After all, you’re a Red and I’m a Turquoise.”  
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about,” Shadow growled.  
“The color of your aura is dependent on your personality, other Christmonians can sense the color of auras easily, even if the color is not visible to the eye. Your aura is red, mine is turquoise and the two complement each other very well. I have never met a Red who was without a Turquoise though. Is that why you have been absorbing my lingering aura?”  
“If that’s the case you shouldn’t talk, I have not seen anyone else with you,” Shadow replied.  
Mirage laughed, “You’re right, I do not have the company of a Red. So if you are looking for a symbiosis then perhaps you have just hit the jackpot. I see you’re an ergokinetic and I have plenty of extra aura to spare.”  
She seemed to know so much, Shadow wasn’t sure if he could trust her. The calming effects of Mirage’s aura was still present, keeping Shadow from getting angry so quickly. Is she telling him the truth though?  
“I guess you aren’t aware of those either,” Mirage continued. “Symbiosis is when two Christmonians with complimenting auras form a relationship with one another that benefits both. This is especially true for those who also have complimenting abilities. For example, you have Ergokinesis, which is the ability to manipulate energies, such as auras. Using your ability, you can absorb my aura and use my psychic abilities to a lesser extent than myself. I have Hallucikinesis which is very difficult to control, but I also have Telekinesis which is much easier to control and likely what you have been using my aura for anyway.”  
“You would just allow me to absorb your aura?” Shadow asked skeptically.  
“Yes, I would,” Mirage answered, “It helps me too, I have been doing what Chritmonians call ‘bleeding’ for a long time. This is the term we use when we voluntarily expel excess aura from our bodies, not doing so would cause me to lose control of my abilities. Trust me, hallucikinesis is not an ability you want to lose control over.”  
Shadow seemed unsure, but was considering her offer carefully. His continued silence said everything though. “That’s okay, you can think about it,” Mirage spoke, reaching out to offer a handshake, “My name is Mirage.”  
“Shadow,” Shadow replied, reach out to accept Mirage’s gesture. When he grabbed her hand, his body illuminated with Mirage’s turquoise aura and his eyes briefly flashed the same light-blue color.  
“Well, you know how to find me if you make a decision, it was nice you meet you Shadow,” Mirage suddenly disappeared into the colored smoke again. Shadow could not feel her presence anymore, but the amount of aura she had just given him was more than he ever harvested before, on his own. Her offer was even more tempting now, but Shadow decided to greatly consider this unusual opportunity.


	2. The Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow tries to find out more about Christmonians and their abilities with little luck until he meets another Christmonian who confirms much of what Mirage has already told him.

Shadow had been attempting to research Christmonians for days now, but could only find old records detailing their relocation to Christmas Island. At least Shadow knew that Mirage was telling him the truth about the history, but what about everything else? Shadow was in a library looking for something about Christmonians when he met another hedgehog. His fur was green and he had wild, spiked quills, he wore a red jacket and one of his ears was pierced with two gold earrings.

“What’s up man?” the green hedgehog asked.

“Nothing,” Shadow replied angrily

“Woah, chill out, not trying to get under your skin, dude,” the green hedgehog replied, “I’ve just noticed you seem to be researching Christmonians.” He approached Shadow, emanating an invisible aura, which Shadow immediately recognized as a green color. This hedgehog was also a Christmonian, “There aren’t many of us left, but I can feel your aura and I know you can feel mine.”

Shadow took more interest in the green hedgehog now, turning to address him, “What can you tell me?”

“First of all, my name is Manik,” he introduced himself.

“My name is Shadow,”

“I know, you’re about as famous as Sonic,”

Shadow gritted his teeth angrily, “There is no need to bring him into this.”

“Sure there is,” Manik replied, “He’s a blue aura and you’re a red, it’s natural for you two to form a rivalry. There is just something about the blue and turquoise aura colors that are extremely magnetic to a red like you. Reds are very neutral to all other colors besides those two.”

“How many colors are there?” Shadow asked curiously.

“Eight,” Manik replied, “Violet, red, scarlet, yellow, green, turquoise, blue and fuchsia.”

“Is the only way to research this to find other Chirstmonians?”

“Afraid so,” Manik confirmed, “The Array is always open to help other Christmonians. It isn’t uncommon for us to be kicked out of places or be abandoned by family members with no powers of their own. Christmas Island is no longer a safe place to stay and only one Christmonian still lives there today, tending to the graves and making inhibitor rings for the rest of us who find our way to the safety of the Array.”

“What graves?”

“You don’t know?” Manik asked, “It was a recent event, it only happened ten years ago.”

“I wasn’t around here ten years ago,” Shadow explained.

“Interesting,” Manik commented, “The Christmas Island Massacre was a huge event. There was only one human who ever took an interest in Christmonians and his name was Gerald Robotnik, his family was seen as friends to the Christmonians, but years after his grandfather’s death, Gerald’s grandson, Ivo Robotnik, betrayed them and dropped a firebomb on the village. There was only a handful of survivors from that night, most of them children.”

Shadow was speechless, he heard Gerald talk about a village before, was that what he meant? Ivo Robotnik was Eggman’s real name, suddenly a lot of puzzle pieces were coming together for Shadow.

“Where do I find this ‘Array’? Shadow asked.

“You just need to find a member or a leader, like myself,” Manik replied.

“You are a leader?”

“There are four of us,” Manik confirmed. “But perhaps you would benefit more from talking to Mirage, she is very versed in Christmonian history and auraology.”

“Mirage?”

“Another of our leaders,” Manik explained, “She has a turquoise aura and no symbiosis with a red, so meeting her could be great for the both of you. She emits excess aura and could probably really use someone to keep an eye on her. She has only ever had one hysteria fit, but it was one too many for her.”

“Hysteria?”

“Hysteria is what happens when a Christmonian’s aura exceeds their capability to control, turning their own abilities against them. Mirage has Hullikinesis, Hysteria forces her into a hallucination and since her ability is attached to the emotion of fear, she tends to attack without realizing it because she’s panicked.”

“What do you mean her ability is attached to fear?”

“That’s how Hullikinesis works, the psychic attaches themselves to a specific emotion while the ability is developing at a young age and that is how they channel their ability. Mirage is one of the Christmas Island survivors and the event cause her to attach to fear. She’s been a great defender of the Array and she has a reputation about her, but I swear she’s a lot sweeter than what you would think. If you’re looking for information, then there is no one I could recommend to you more than Mirage.”

“I have actually already met Mirage,” Shadow admitted.

“Great!” Manik exclaimed, “Then you’re in good hands, but then what are you doing here?”

“I have been contemplating her offer,”

“I have no idea what you’re waiting for because there is no one in the Array more knowledgeable than her. I guess there is also no one more intimidating, though, so maybe I can see how you would be apprehensive.”

“I am not afraid of her; I just wasn’t sure if I could trust her,”

“I have never heard anyone say either of those statements before,” Manik laughed. “Honestly there is nothing for you to worry about, helping other Christmonians is what she lives for.”

“How do I know she didn’t send you?”

“Dude, when you get to know Mirage then you’ll know that she quite respectful,” Manik replied, “If you were making the decision whether or not you wanted to join the Array then she would not have told the three of us anything about that. You have not technically joined us and the decision is yours alone to make. Mirage understands that and I understand that. She is not obligated to tell us about you unless you decide to join.”

“She never mentioned the Array, only a symbiosis,”

“I’m not surprised; she is probably waiting to see if you would benefit from the Array. She uses a different recruitment method than me. I’m obviously more forward about it than her, but I’m a green after all, it’s what I do. She won’t pressure you into membership, if all you want is a symbiosis then she’d be perfectly okay with that. Not everyone needs us, but we are here for those who do,”

“I’ll keep what you said in mind,” Shadow replied.

“No problem man, I hope you find what you’re looking for,”

Shadow left the library and returned to Eggman’s fortress to seek out Mirage. He had already used up most of the aura she had given him previously and Manik made a good case for trusting Mirage. Shadow found Mirage sitting on a rock nearby, keeping her eyes on Eggman from afar. He approached her from behind.

“I had a feeling you’d be back,” Mirage spoke.

“I wasn’t sure about you until I happened to met Manik,” Shadow was baiting her, to see what she would say.

“Oh, for Mobius sake,” Mirage replied, “I suppose that fool told you about the Array then?”

“He did,”

“I should smack him! I didn’t want to bombard you with too much at once,” Mirage explained, “Please forgive me, my intentions were not to deceive you, I just wanted you to trust me first.”

“I appreciate your gesture,” Shadow admitted, “I’m actually impressed, you made the correct call on how to handle me.”

“I know a lot about personalities that are associated with aura colors,” Mirage commented, “Reds are hard to impress and most don’t appreciate being thrown into the deep end right off the bat with anything. If I had told you everything at once, you may not have even dipped your toe into the shallow end, but now it seems you’re waist deep. Are you okay?”

Shadow was surprised, her analogy was annoyingly accurate to his reactions. “I have decided to take you up on your offer for symbiosis, but I am not interested in joining the Array.”

“That’s fine,” Mirage replied, “I don’t think you need all of us anyway, but you certainly need _me_.”

“ _Hump_ ,” Shadow was a little upset with her statement.

“That’s alright, I need you too,” Mirage finished. Shadow calmed down a little, realizing that she only meant to be factual and not arrogant. He came even closer to where she was sitting and hesitated to lift his hand to touch her. Mirage looked over her shoulder to see his nervous expression.

“It’s okay,” Mirage encouraged, “go ahead.”

Shadow put his hand on Mirage’s shoulder, absorbing some of her aura. Just like before, he briefly took on her turquoise glow and his red eyes quickly flashed with the light-blue color.

“This doesn’t need to get personal,” Shadow commented.

“It will be hard for you not to become attached to me in some way,” Mirage argued, “We are magnets to one another. At the very least, you will find yourself to be protective of me.”

“I’ll accept that,” Shadow agreed, finding it sensible that he would be protective, after all, if something happened to Mirage then he would be without her aura. He used Mirage’s aura to teleport away in a turquoise flash of light. Mirage continued to keep an eye on Eggman, but she knew it was only a matter of time before Shadow became more curious about her, especially since he talked to Manik.


	3. Curiosity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow wants to know more about Mirage and finally gives in and starts to ask her questions. In turn, he tells her more about himself.

It has been three months since Shadow and Mirage had formed a symbiosis and he would seek her out about once a week to absorb her aura. Something was beginning to bother Shadow recently, though, he has never once seen Mirage without her mask on and he was finding himself feeling uncomfortable about taking Mirage’s aura and then leaving abruptly. At first, the symbiosis was just ‘something that happened,’ but now Shadow was starting to feel like he owed Mirage something more than preventing hysteria. It was himself that said the relationship didn’t need to become personal, but now he was thinking that maybe it did.

The fact that she was a massacre survivor run a cord in Shadow, because so was he. Like much information about Christmonians, the massacre was never recorded. It was like Manik had told him, the only way to get information about Christmonians is to ask a Christmonian. Besides Sonic, Mirage was the only other Christmonian that Shadow knew how to locate. He hadn’t seen Manik again since that day, not even when returning to the same library.

Once again, Shadow returned to the small island where Eggman’s base was to see Mirage. As usual, she was sitting and watching from afar. Her hood and mask hiding her facial features with only her big green eyes visible. Shadow placed his hand on her shoulder to absorb her aura, but this time did not immediately teleport away.

“Something wrong?” Mirage asked.

“No,” Shadow replied, “I was just hoping that I might talk with you today?”

“I thought this didn’t need to be personal?”

“It doesn’t,” Shadow replied, thinking his request had been denied.

“Oh, I’m only teasing you,” Mirage said quickly before Shadow could teleport away, “of course you can talk with me.”

Shadow moved closer to Mirage and stood next to her, something he had not done over the course of their symbiosis. She turned her head to look at Shadow and this was the first time since their very first meeting that he had seen Mirage’s eyes. He had been staying behind her in an attempt to distance himself from her, but Shadow knew that having a conversation would mean eye-contact. He was hoping the fact that she covered her face would help keep the distance, but he wasn’t sure it would now. It was too late to change his mind, however,

“This isn’t how a symbiosis is supposed to work is it?”

“I told you it would be hard not to attach to me,” Mirage answered, “No, normally two Christmonians in a symbiosis are extremely close to one another.”

“I know this helps you stay in control of your powers, but I feel as though I am robbing you,” Shadow admitted, “I feel like what I’m getting in return is not equal to what you are getting, that I owe you something more.”

“That’s a normal feeling,” Mirage explained, “You really don’t owe me anything, there is no need for you to feel guilty about our symbiosis.”

“Even if I’m not obligated, I think I still want to get to know you a little better,”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t want to feel like I’m just leeching off of you. I don’t understand why I have felt like this recently, but I realize that if I’m going to keep doing this, then I don’t want to be a complete stranger to you,”

“I suppose that’s fair,”

“Manik said you knew a lot about Christmonians and I’m curious about what I am,”

“It’s hard for you to research isn’t it?” Mirage asked, “The only people who kept records on the Christmonians where the Christmonians and the Roboniks.”

“Manik mentioned a massacre,”

“Did you meet him again?”

“No,”

“I swear, I’m going to smack him one of these days,” Mirage sighed, “It’s true, but it’s incredibly depressing and not where I recommend starting to learn about our kind.”

“Then where would you recommend?”

“I’m sure you’ve found records about relocating the Christmonians, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have,”

“Those records made Christmonians out as if they were bad as if they were causing trouble and a threat to others, but that’s not true at all,” Mirage started, “Sure, none of us were perfect saints, but none of us were bad either. When the relocation began a lot of Christmonians went without a fight because they were just so tired of living in fear every day and being kicked out of every town they tried to travel through. The idea of finally having a peaceful home was enticing for them to say the least.”

“It was the Christmonians who were afraid? That doesn’t seem to surprise me,” Shadow commented.

“People fear things they do not understand and even more, powerful people that they cannot control,”

That statement really hit home for Shadow, the Ark Massacre seemed to happen for the same reason,

“Cowards will destroy anything that scares them, even if it isn’t a true threat.”

“Ironically enough, living on Christmas Island helped Christmonians in a huge way. Before they were relocated, people could easily pick them out of a crowd because their auras would glow around them. However, they found a resource that was natural to the island’s cold climate and was able to control their own powers with it, which made it easier from them to master their abilities,”

“What resource?”

“It was a crystal that absorbs auras, yet touching it directly can cause extreme fatigue at best and death at worse, they found a way to make use of them,” Mirage explained, “They called it Christonite, but if harvested correctly and shaped into a ring, then covered in gold, it would inhibit our powers and cause our visible auras to vanish.”

“Inhibitor rings,” Shadow realized, lifting one hand to touch the inhibitor ring on his other hand.

“Do you have two, or is one just a decorate match?”

“I have two of them,”

“Then you must have a powerful aura and your Ergokinesis must be very powerful as well,” Mirage commented, “You are surely a pureblood.”

“Pureblood?”

“Both of your parents were Christmonians,” Mirage replied, “Sometimes purebloods can have dual abilities, like me.”

Shadow wasn’t sure how to tell Mirage about being an experiment, so he decided to keep it to himself for now.

“Manik said you were a survivor of the massacre,”

“You’re hung up on that, aren’t you?” Mirage asked, “Did you have family on the island?”

Gerald was always telling Shadow that he would take him to ‘the village’ someday and that there was a family there waiting for him, if the Christmas Island village was the same one, then Shadow technically did have family on the island.

“Yes, I think so,” Shadow replied, “But I never got the chance to meet them.”

“Are you hoping maybe they survived?”

“I don’t know,” Shadow admitted, “Maybe, they don’t want me anymore.”

“Want you?”

“I was umm…supposed to be adopted,”

“Oh, I see,” Mirage awed, “That’s why you’re so confused.”

Shadow didn’t technically lie, but he seemed to have made things easier on himself for not knowing anything about Christmonians or their culture with that statement. “Then where did you get your inhibitor rings from?”

“They were sent to me before I was supposed to come to the village,” Shadow again didn’t technically lie, the rings were sent to him as a gift from his intended family.

“Can I see one of your inhibitor rings?”

“Sure,” Shadow took off one of his inhibitor rings and handed it to Mirage. She inspected it carefully,

“Looks like this is one of Arin’s.”

“One of Arin’s?”

“Each inhibitor ring needs to be specially made for each Christmonian, Arin was one of the best ring makers we had, you must have been going to one of the head families,” Mirage explained, handing Shadow his inhibitor ring.

“Head families?”

“There were two families that lead the village, Arin’s family was one of them,” Mirage continued, “I think there are only four survivors from his family, but they were all children at the time. The oldest is fifteen now.”

“They wouldn’t even know me then,”

“Well, you could probably still go ask the oldest if you wanted to, but you may be surprised by who he is,”

“Who is he?”

“Sonic the Hedgehog,”

“Forget it! I’m not talking to him,” Shadow exclaimed. “Wait, is that why you owe something to him?”

“How did you know about that?”

“Umm,” Shadow blushed, realizing he just admitted to eavesdropping, “I heard the two of you talking and I followed you afterward.”

“Oh, that’s how you found me,” Mirage laughed, “but yes, I wouldn’t be alive today if he hadn’t saved me that night.”

“He’s always been the hero, huh?”

“I suppose,” Mirage replied, “I wouldn’t expect anything less from a blue, though.”

“He’s cocky and arrogant,” Shadow commented.

“He’s actually not,” Mirage argued.

“Huh?”

“He puts on a good show, doesn’t he?” Mirage laughed, “but none of us who survived that night walked away without mental scars, Sonic is no different. His attitude is a façade, so the normal Mobians would exile him for being a Christmonian. His ability is so rare, that most of them probably don’t even realize he’s a Christmonian at all.”

“Then what is he really like?”

“He’s as messed up as I am, I suppose,” Mirage replied, “You may just have to trust me on that one, because unless you decide to get to know him for yourself, there’s little I can do to persuade you.”

“Fine, I’ll take your word for it,” Shadow agreed, “What rare ability does he have?”

“Chronokinesis,”

“What?”

“The ability to manipulate time,” Mirage explained, “He can speed up or slow down time around him, but he can’t reverse time or anything like that. It’s more like having a fast-forward or slow-motion button.”

“So he only appears to be moving fast,”

“That’s right,”

“That’s enough about Sonic, I wanted to know more about you,” Shadow was desperate to change the subject. “What about your powers?”

“Hullikinesis is difficult to control, the psychic attaches to an emotion and is able to see other people’s memories associated with that emotion and create an illusion. My abilities aren’t limited to that, I can actually create an illusion I want, but I attached to fear and fear is a powerful emotion,”

“So you can see people’s worst fears?” Shadow asked, “Why not use that against Eggman if your battle is against him?”

“He wears those stupid goggles so I can’t,”

“What do you mean?”

“I have to look in someone’s eyes to see their fears, wearing goggles prevents me from seeing anything,”

“He knew to do that?”

“Like I told you, his family were the only people who took interest in us, so he knows a lot about Christmonians,”

“So you’ve crossed paths with him before?”

“Yes,” Mirage answered, “He found me when I was young and to defend myself I had to cut off his hand. I have already been wearing a disguise at that point, but he knew I was the one making inhibitor rings for the Array. He wanted me to stop, but luckily he caught me in transit, so he never found my workshop.”

“You’re the one who still lives on the island then?”

“How did you know that?”

“Manik,”

“I swear I’m going to smack him so hard!” Mirage said angrily, “Oh well, would you like to come see the Island Shadow? I have an extra room you can stay in if you’re curious.”

“I’ll think about it,”

“Well, there’s still plenty of time before the egghead turns in for the night, but you let me know anytime you’d like to visit,”


	4. The Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow decides to visit Christmas Island with Mirage.

Eggman finally went to sleep, allowing Mirage to leave for the night. She got up from her seat and began to walk away when Shadow returned in a blue flash of light.

“Are you coming with me?”

“I don’t know if I’ll stay, but I would like to come for a short while,” Shadow replied.

“Well, it will be difficult to show you around in the dark and if you decide to come then you will have to stay,”

“Why?”

“The island is booby-trapped, you will need me to guide you along the safe path,” Mirage explained. “You probably could teleport if you wanted, but it would use up nearly all of the aura I have given you today.”

Shadow dropped his head slightly, contemplating whether he still wanted to go with Mirage. She turned her head as if picking up on Shadow’s reluctance, “It’s alright, there’s no hurry.” Mirage turned to leave once again.

“No, wait,” Shadow called before he realized what he was doing. Mirage turned back to look at Shadow, there was a moment of awkward of silence, “I’ll go.”

“Okay then,” Mirage replied, reaching her hand into her hood. A small golden light temporarily broke the darkness in her hood. Shadow could see no significant details but recognized the light as being that of an inhibitor ring that had been removed. Mirage’s body began to glow with her turquoise aura and she reached her other hand out to Shadow. He hesitated for a moment, but eventually took her hand and was teleported away.

Shadow suddenly found himself in an area lightly covered in a layer of snow with flurries falling from the sky. Mirage suddenly fell to her knees, breathing heavily as if she were suddenly exhausted.

“What’s wrong?” Shadow asked.

“Sorry, I guess I needed to use more aura to teleport someone with me,” Mirage apologized. “Seems like we’re a little further away from where I normally teleport, but that’s okay.” She stood back up, stumbling just a little. Shadow instinctively reached out to catch her, but she quickly gained her footing and was stable before he managed to touch her. “I’m fine,” Mirage insisted.

Shadow felt somewhat embarrassed about himself, he wanted to get to know Mirage a little more but didn’t want to get too close. He was already risking too much just by visiting her but was intensely curious about the island. Mirage was the only person who lived here anymore, the only person who could guide him around the island and the only person who could tell him about its history. Shadow had no other choice but to trust Mirage, but for some reason, he really wanted to trust her regardless of wanting to know more about Christmas Island.

After walking for about thirty minutes, they arrive at a decent sized, cottage-like home. Mirage retrieved a key from her pocket and unlocked the door and invited Shadow inside. Inside the home, it was very warm and felt much better than the frigid temperature of the island.

“Would you like something warm to drink?” Mirage asked.

“If you don’t mind,” Shadow replied. He felt a little awkward about the situation, but Shadow was uncomfortably cold.

“Come in and sit down,” Mirage offered. “Just make yourself at home.”

Mirage had removed her boots before walking through the house, making Shadow feel obligated to remove his own shoes before continuing through the house himself. He took his shoes off and placed them beside the door, finding himself in what seemed to be the living room. Shadow felt a little too uneasy about sitting on the couch which was nearby and decided to just look around the room instead. There were no pictures of family members on the walls, which Shadow had expected to see in a personal home. A bookshelf was neatly organized nearby and Shadow took note of the fact that much of the eye-level row was filled with college-type textbooks on law and several others on the subjects of interrogation and psychology.

On the wall at the far end of the room was looked like a large table. Shadow approached the object, finding it to be a display case. Under the protective glass of the case was what Shadow assumed to inhibitor rings, arranged from smallest to largest. Below the rings in the display was several tools that Shadow was not familiar with, an uncut piece of a white crystal and a small, round-shaped piece of gold.

“These rings aren’t real inhibitor rings,” Mirage’s voice startled Shadow, breaking him from his deep thinking.

“Then why are they here?”

Mirage reached a cup to Shadow, the liquid inside was steaming. He accepted the cup and carefully took a sip, surprised by the sweet taste of the beverage. “What is this?”

“Hot Chocolate,” Mirage answered, “it’s a little too late in the evening for coffee. Do you want something else?”

“No, this is fine,” Shadow replied, “You didn’t answer my question about the rings.”

“These are for measuring the size someone would need,” Mirage explained. “I can’t use a real inhibitor ring to do that because once you come into contact with a ring it will absorb a small amount of your aura and no one else will be able to wear it. If for example, you lost one of your own inhibitor rings, anyone else who tries to come along and wears it might be able to put it on, but the ring is incapable of adapting to a new aura, even if it is the same color as yours.”

“I see, so you have to know someone’s measurements before you can make them a real one,” Shadow returned, “But why not just use measuring tape?”

“I like for people to put the fake ones on to see how they feel first,” Mirage replied, “They have to wear their inhibitor ring all the time, so they should wear whichever one feels the most comfortable to them.”

“Where did your ring go?” Shadow realized that he had not seen Mirage put her inhibitor ring back on after teleporting to the island. Mirage reached into her pocket and pulled out a small golden earring,

“I have it here.”

“Why such a small ring for someone with as much aura as you?”

“Sometimes the amount of aura you have or the amount of aura you need access to is a factor in which ring you need,” Mirage explained, “Because I have Telekinesis and Hullikinesis I need access to large amounts of my aura, therefore I only need one big enough to make my glow disappear.”

“That makes sense,”

“I’m too exhausted of aura right now to put it back on, but after I rest for a while and my glow returns then I can put it back on,”

“I understand that part,” Shadow replied, “I have had to do the same myself.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“Like I said, I wanted to know why it was so small,” Shadow explained, “After having these two large ones all my life, I didn’t realize anything smaller was sufficient.”

“Ergokinesis is a tricky ability, absorb too much energy from someone and you can kill them,”

“What?!”

“You didn’t know that?” Mirage asked surprised, “Most Ergokenitics do have larger rings.”

“And you trusted me to absorb your aura?” Shadow asked shocked, “Even though I could have killed you if I had the notion?!”

“Yes,” Mirage replied simply.

“Then…You should trust me enough to take off your mask,”

Mirage’s eyes narrowed slightly as if she were amused by the statement, “Alright, I suppose that’s more than fair.”

Mirage lifted her hands to untie the back of her mask, revealing the peach colored skin of her muzzle. Next, she pulled back her hood to reveal her short sky-blue colored quills and hair before removing her jacket completely. Shadow was shocked to find out that Mirage was a hedgehog.


	5. The Visit: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow has convinced Mirage to show him her face, now will Mirage convince Shadow to stay with her?

Shadow looked at Mirage with a shocked look on his face, he really didn’t think about what Mirage would look like.

“What?” Mirage asked.

“You’re…younger than I expected,”

“I would say that I got that a lot except for the fact that no one other than the other leaders of the Array has seen my face,” Mirage replied, making sure that Shadow knew the importance of her identity.

“Why wear the mask at all?”

“Because you can’t be a lawyer in the day time and a crazy bitch at night without people being sorta mad about it,” Mirage replied with a serious tone. “When you have a reputation for cutting people’s limbs off they won’t exactly let you in a court room unless you’re behind the defendant podium.”

“You cut off Eggman’s hand in self-defense and suddenly you’re a danger to society?”

“Eggman isn’t the only person missing a body part because of me,” Mirage admitted, “I have a reputation for a reason. Christmonians are still greatly discriminated against and with my abilities, making people afraid of me just comes naturally. I am the Array’s enforcer; my job is to protect them from being found or hurt by others.”

“What do the others do?”

“I respect your decision not to join the Array, so you are going to have to respect that I can’t tell you that,”

Shadow sighed in frustration, but understood why she couldn’t tell him anything, “Fine.”

“I can tell you anything I want about myself or Christmonian culture or history, but I can’t tell you about the other three leaders.”

“You didn’t tell me how old you were,”

Mirage laughed, “I’m fourteen.”

“Isn’t this a lot for a fourteen-year-old to be doing?”

“Why would it seem like a lot?” Mirage asked, “I don’t get many cases to work on in the day and I don’t get lines out my door for inhibitor rings. Manik brings me a few occasionally, but it’s not often I get visitors at all.”

“Fourteen just seems like a young age to be on your own like this, you’re basically a child,”

Miraged laughed, “By what standard is a fourteen-year-old hedgehog a child?”

Shadow suddenly looked confused, which confused Mirage in return and they exchanged puzzled expressions. “Shadow, hedgehogs are adults at age twelve. We don’t leave our parents until we mate, but we aren’t children at that point,” Mirage spoke kindly.

“Twelve-year-olds can mate?”

“Hedgehogs usually don’t show interest in mating until they are between ages fourteen and eighteen. They can begin dating at age twelve, though, have a job, go to school for a higher degree…were you not even around other hedgehogs while you were growing up?”

“No,”

“A hedgehog’s family unit is called an array, there is a strong instinct to be part of one,” Mirage explained. “I know, there isn’t anyone who lives here with me, but I am still part of my own array, even if it is very small.”

“It’s the other leaders, isn’t it?” Shadow asked, “I’m not a fool Mirage.”

“I don’t recall accusing you of being a fool,” Mirage argued, “you’re right, they are.”

“That’s all you’re going to tell me, isn’t it? You don’t trust me,”

“Shadow, we’ve known each other for several months, but this is the first time you’ve asked me any personal questions. You usually just come and take some of my aura and leave with very few words. You’ve seen my face, which is more than anyone outside of my array can say. You think that I don’t trust you? I want to…but I don’t know you either.”

Shadow suddenly felt guilty, he hadn’t noticed that Mirage had already given him much more information on herself than he had given her. He still hasn’t told her the truth about where he came from and is expecting her to lay out her entire life story.

“I’m sorry Mirage,” Shadow apologized, “I didn’t mean to be unfair, it’s just that…I’m not exactly a saint.”

“Neither am I,” Mirage admits, “I’ve done more than my fair share are torturing people both mentally and physically, I’m far from a good person.”

“But you are a good person,” Shadow argued, “You do bad things for good reasons, I do bad things to benefit myself.”

Mirage’s expression turn to sudden surprise and she laughed uncomfortably as she looked to the floor almost as if she were saddened. “What did I say wrong?” Shadow asked nervously.

“Nothing,” Mirage replied, “I’ve just never been called a ‘good person’ before.”

“I don’t give compliments lightly,”

“I’ve noticed,” Mirage replied, “Shadow, you never found a home, did you?”

Shadow looked at Mirage intensely for a moment, but his expression quickly softened and he shook his head, “No.”

“Then, stay here with me,”

“Are you insane?”

“Probably,” Mirage answered, “but that never stopped me before.”

Shadow smirked and exhaled roughly, almost laughing. He looked in Mirage’s eyes and now that her face was visible, he couldn’t help but be reminded somewhat of Maria. Her big green eyes were almost pleading with him and something in Shadow really wanted to say yes. He thought about it carefully and wrestled internally with the idea of being around her so much. Shadow really wanted to get to know her better but didn’t want to risk becoming too attached. “Shadow,” Mirage called, breaking him from his deep thought, “Please stay.”

Shadow sighed, “I’ll stay for a while and we’ll see how it goes.”


	6. See No Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mirage meets up with Sonic disguised as her alter-ego Sicilia Thorn, but when Dave the Intern becomes infatuated with Sicilia things take a sudden and violent turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are going to start ramping up in this chapter; violence and mature themes begin here, but may not appear in every chapter. I'm still trying to write a story along with everything else. There is an attempted kidnapping in this chapter that may have sexual undertones to the motive, but the only person who actually gets hurt is the attempted kidnapper. NO successful kidnapping, NO sex, NO rape. Regardless, please proceed with caution if it might upset you.

One week later, Mirage returns to Bygon Island, disguised as her alter-ego, Sicilia Thorn. She takes on this other identity to accept legal cases, such as when she replaced Knuckles as Sonic’s attorney. In hindsight, it wasn’t the smartest move Sonic ever made, even if he thought the lawsuit was a joke. That case was an easy win, but this time Mirage wasn’t in town for a case. Sonic needed to meet with her, and since the two are already established as knowing each other, meeting with him as Sicilia made the most sense.

For whatever reason, Sonic wanted to meet at one of the local restaurants called the Meh Burger. Knowing his habits, she arrived a little later than usual, but still there was no sign of him yet. She sighed and took a seat at the nearby table. From across the counter of the register, Dave took note of Mirage's presence and recognized her as Sicilia. Mirage kept her features in this disguise, except for changing her fur to a lilac color, which didn’t demand very much aura at all to maintain the illusion. She pulled her quills back into a short ponytail and clipped her long bangs to the right side of her head using a beret. She also wore a pair of glasses with a thin black frame and non-prescription lenses. 

Dave remembered how everyone laughed when Sicilia walked into the courtroom, her small stature and young face gave an impression of inexperience. However, once she opened her mouth everyone else shut theirs. She may have been small and cute by appearance, but the voice of a mature and thoughtful adult escaped her lips; intelligent, clever and blunt. She wasted no time putting in a request the judge dismiss himself when the judge refused to step down, a movement for a mistrial. When he refused again, she then entered a counterclaim on the grounds of slander and scared Eggman into dropping the case because she was asking for an insane amount of money. She was scary, relentless and stubborn which attracted Dave.

Dave approached Sicilia nervously, “Hello Miss. Thorn.”

“I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“Umm, no Ma’am, I was in the courtroom when you defended Sonic the Hedgehog several months ago,”

“The shortest case of my life and I somehow managed to leave an impression on you?”

“Yeah, you were confident and prepared,” Dave commented, “It was more than impressive, it was actually kinda cool.”

“Being confident and prepared is my job,” Sicilia replied, “Isn’t your job taking people’s orders?”

“Yes ma’am, but‑”

“Well then get back to it,” Sicilia interrupted, “I don’t want anything, I’m just waiting for someone.”

Dave went back to the counter, normally someone would have taken offense to Sicilia’s cold demeanor, but Dave was even more attracted. Shortly after, Sonic arrived and sat down at the table with Sicilia.

“Hey Sic (pronounced: sis), long time no see,” Sonic greeted.

“Sonic,”

“Sorry, _Sicilia_ ,” Sonic corrected himself. He reached her a steaming cardboard cup.

“What’s this?”

“Coffee,” Sonic replied, “I know you’re not much of an early-bird.”

Sicilia accepted the cup and took a drink, “Thanks.” However hot the coffee was, the heat did not seem to faze her in the slightest. “How are things going?”

“Fine on my end so far,” Sonic stated “You?”

“Hopeful,”

“Hopeful is good; better than I expected anyway,” Sonic commented, “What about the job?”

“Nothing major so far,”

“It’s been months, why don’t you take a few days’ break?”

“Why?”

“Because something, or should I say _someone_ needs your attention for a while,”

Sicilia looked at Sonic with a shocked expression, she hadn’t told him that Shadow was staying with her. That look on his face told her loud and clear that he knew about it regardless.

“It’s not a big deal,”

“Sure it is,” Sonic argued, “It’s been good for the both of you, just focus on that for a while.”

“I’m sorry,”

“Don’t be,” Sonic countered again, “You shouldn’t apologize for being happy, ever.”

“Okay,” She replied, unsure.

“Listen, despite what you may think of yourself, you deserve it and despite what he thinks of himself so does he,”

Sicilia smiled and took another sip of her coffee, “You’re a good friend.”

“Don’t be silly, I’m the best,” Sonic replied making Sicilia laugh. “A smile and a laugh within five minutes of each other, that’s got to be a new record.”

“Shut up,”

“And now we’re back to snarky, that didn’t last long,”

“I guess I’ve should have known better,” Sicilia commented, “I know the real you and yet I still drop my guard like an amateur.”

“We go too far back for you not to trust me,” Sonic returned, “I drop my guard around you too and I know your favorite hobby.”

“I told him,”

“That’s not my point,” Sonic clarified. Sicilia suddenly looked down at Sonic’s bandanna and realized what he meant. Sonic caught her shift in gaze and waved his hand in front of her face to get her attention. “It’s in the past, forget about it. I wasn’t talking about that either.”

“I can’t,”

“Do you think you owe me for ten years ago or two years ago?” Sonic asked, “It never dawned on me that you would feel like you owe for something I forgave you for ten times over.”

“Both,”

Sonic rolled his eyes, “I’ve told you a thousand times, you don’t owe me.”

“And I’ve told you a thousand times that I do,”

Sonic sighed, “You’re so stubborn...Fine, what do you have for me this time?”

Sicilia laid a jump drive on the table, “Everything for at least the next month, maybe two.”

“Maybe you’ll get longer off then,”

“Isn’t that risky?”

“He’s usually good to stick with his dumb schedules,” Sonic confirmed, “I wanted your help, not to force you into slavery as a living surveillance camera. You have more important things to do. So, will you please just rest for a while now?”

Sicilia nodded yes.

“Thank you,” Sonic replied sincerely, “I’ll be in touch.”

“I’ll see you around,” Sicilia said, getting up from the table to leave.

“See ya,” Sonic waved good-bye to her.

Dave had just finished serving the last customer at the register and looked back at the table to only see Sonic. He approached the table again, confirming that she had in fact left.

“Since when does Meh Burger employees take orders at the table?” Sonic asked sarcastically.

“Shut up!” Dave snapped, “Where did she do?”

“I can’t shut up and answer your question at the same time,”

“Where?!”

“Home, hopefully,” Sonic replied, “She’s tired.”

“Tired, huh?” Dave said suspiciously before going back to the counter and thought the employee door to the back.

‘I hope he doesn’t get the stupid notion to go after her,’ Sonic thought, ‘She’s too tired to play games like she normally does. She’ll make it quick, but she sure as hell won’t make it painless.’

 

Mirage was careful when she was in disguise, she didn’t just try and hide before teleporting away. She needed to make sure people seen her leave the area, in case anyone saw her come in. Mirage didn’t want her alter-egos to seem too suspicious, so she always played it safe. She was almost completely to the edge of the island where it would be safe to teleport when she suddenly felt a presence behind her. A faint aura, someone normal was here, but it was nearly impossible to get an accurate color read on normal auras. She played it safe and waited, maybe they were only passing through. The faintness grew a little more intense, but only because the person had gotten closer; they were young. Mirage could tell because a person’s aura is always the most intense during ages 12-25.

Dave approached her and she turned to face him, surprised he had followed her out here all the way from town.

“Miss Thorn wait, please don’t leave,” Dave said.

“Look, kid, I don’t know who you are, but you’re creepy so piss off,”

“Come on, don’t be like that,” Dave insisted, reaching out to grab Mirage’s arm. She jerked away from him,

“Leave me alone or you’ll regret it!”

“Sweetheart, you can sue me all you want, that’s just more time I get to spend with you.”

“Are you hitting on me? Gross!”

Dave tried grabbing for her again, but she shoved him away, “This is your last warning.”

“I bet your attitude is tougher than you are,” Dave said in a threating manner. Mirage reached into her pocket and pulled out a spring assisted knife and opened it. “Oh,” Dave mused, “you have a knife, how cute. He pulled a gun from his pocket and pointed it Mirage, “Drop it.”

Mirage suddenly disappeared in a light blue smoke, confusing Dave. “What?” His gun was forcefully taken from his hand by an unseen force and he was quickly flung to the ground and couldn’t get up.

“Oh, you have a gun?” Mirage mocked reappearing in her hood, mask and other normal clothing, “How cute.”

“Who are you?” Dave asked.

“Does my reputation for removing body parts not reach of ears of little people on Bygon Island or are you just stupid?”

“Mirage?!”

“Oh, well look at that, seems like it does,” Mirage laughed, “I guess that will teach me not to disguise myself as just anyone who’s leaving town the next time.” Mirage was hoping to fool Dave into thinking he had followed the wrong person. She inspected his gun and unloaded it, “If you want to play with the big kid toys, then take the safety off next time or leave the gun in daddy’s drawer.” She threw the gun far away from them, onto the sand of the beach.

“Let me go!” Dave commanded.

“Oh, no,” Mirage replied, “I’m not letting run off to attempt another kidnapping or whatever it was you just tried to pull. Mirage pulled her knife back out and rolled Dave over with her foot, forcing her boot down on his chest as hard as she could.

“UGH!” Dave cried in pain.

“What’s your worst fear?” Mirage asked, looking into Dave’s eyes. “Mommy is your worst fear?”

“How did you‑”

“How pathetic,” Mirage interrupted, “you should count yourself lucky that you have a mother at all.”

“You don’t know‑”

“What? That you can’t overrule mommy dearest so you have some perverted fetish about dominating a woman with more power than you?”

“What?” Dave asked shocked.

“I’m good at getting in people’s heads, that’s why I’m feared,” Mirage answered, “So if you weren’t afraid of me yet, you will be by the time I’m through with you. I’m going to make sure you have an _identifying feature_.” Mirage lifted her knife above Dave’s face.

“No! Wait!”

Mirage wasted no time, she plunged the short blade of her knife into Dave’s left eye. Blood immediately began flowing out from under the handle and down Dave’s face as he screamed in agony. Mirage yanked the knife out, causing more blood to spurt out from the wound and onto her dress. Her knife blade was covered in blood that was dripping from the tip. She removed her heavy boot from Dave’s chest as he screamed and tried to cover his eye with his hand.

“Now try to look at women,” Mirage commented before teleporting away.

 

Mirage opened the door of her house and walked in casually, taking off her boots and jacket. She was never actually wearing her mask, that part was an illusion so Dave wouldn’t see her face.

“How did it go?” Shadow asked, looking over from the couch.

“Fine,” Mirage answered.

“What the hell happened?!” Shadow exclaimed, jumping to his feet once he noticed the blood on her dress.

“It’s just a stain, don’t worry about it,” Mirage replied.

“Don’t worry about it?! Mirage, that’s blood!”

“Not my blood,”

“Sonic’s?”

“Of course not,”

“Then who’s blood?!”

“Some pervert who tried to kidnap me at gunpoint,”

“What?!” Shadow exclaimed, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Mirage shrugged as if it were nothing. Shadow wasn’t sure whether to be afraid or impressed.

“Did you…kill him?”

“Of course not,” Mirage answered, “That’s not how I do things.”

“Then, how do you do things?”

“They don’t learn anything if you kill them,” Mirage explained. “If you really want to teach someone a lesson, you don’t give them the free pass that is death, you make them suffer so they never forget.”

Shadow looked at her strangely and she seemed to suddenly realize that she had said something crazy.

“Do you want to leave now?” Mirage asked sadly.

“Are you trying to run me off?”

“No,” She still sounded sad.

“Good, because you would have had to have done a lot better than that,” Shadow replied, “Actually, I think I like you a little bit more now.”


	7. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow has formed a close bond with Mirage, against his better judgment. When he realizes that he is feeling like his old self again, he struggles with whether or not to stay. When Mirage offers him the truth about the massacre, the decision becomes clear.

Mirage joined Shadow on the couch to rest for a while, she was exhausted of aura and was dozing in and out of sleep. She had curled up on one end of the couch, laying her head on the armrest like a pillow. Shadow sat at the other end, there were just a few inches between him and Mirage’s feet. He could see how tired Mirage looked and was worried about her, but afraid to say it out loud. They had spent a lot of time together over the past week and in some strange way it was like they knew each other all their lives. Shadow still hasn’t told Mirage the truth about where he came from and neither had she told him about the massacre yet. 

Shadow could understand why she might be hesitant to talk about it, the event was surely traumatic. For that same reason, Shadow avoided telling Mirage the truth; he didn’t want to talk about the raid on the Ark. He had been very patient with Mirage, not only because the influence of her aura but because he would be hypocritical otherwise. How could he be angry with Mirage for hiding details about herself and her past if he was doing the same to her? Shadow found himself growing fond of Mirage and her company. It was nice to have a companion again and Manik really meant what he said about Mirage being sweeter than she seemed.

“Maybe you should take a break,” Shadow commented, breaking the silence.

“I am,” Mirage replied, not opening her eyes.

“No, I mean you need to tell Sonic to let you take a break from surveilling Eggman, just for a little bit,” Shadow said with concern.

“He already told me to take a break,”

“What?”

“I wanted your help, not to force you into slavery as a living surveillance camera. You have more important things to do. So, will you please just rest for a while now?” Mirage recited, “That’s what he said to me.”

Shadow was speechless for a brief moment, “How long?”

“At least a month,”

“Really?!”

“He knows you’re staying with me,”

“You told him?!”

“No,” Mirage replied, “He found out.”

“So out of the kindness of his heart, he gave you time off so you could be with me?” Shadow said sarcastically, but with no anger in his voice.

“I guess so,”

“He’s related to you, isn’t he?”

Mirage finally opened her eyes to look at Shadow. “I couldn’t figure out if he was infatuated with you or if he was related to you. If he’s okay with me being here, then it obviously isn’t the former.”

“He’s my brother,” Mirage admitted.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that?”

“Because you were so dismissive when I talked about him,” Mirage replied, “I thought if I told you that I was his sister, you would dismiss me too.”

Shadow sighed, “How do you know me so well?”

“I pay attention,” Mirage answered, “Psychology courses from college helped too. Are you going to leave?”

“Why do you keep asking me that?” Shadow asked, looking away from Mirage.

“Because I don’t want you to leave,” Mirage’s reply sounded genuine and cracked as if she were about to cry. The sound broke Shadow’s heart and he tried with everything in him to get up and walk out, but he just couldn’t. He wanted a reason to leave but wanted a reason to stay even more. Shadow looked back at Mirage, finding that a few tiny tears managed to escape her eyes and trickle down her cheeks. He finally reclaimed the ability to get up from the couch, Mirage looked at him with a devastated expression as he walked towards her.

To Mirage’s surprise, Shadow picked her up from the couch and sat back down with her in his lap. Shadow hugged her loosely, keeping one hand behind her back and the other laying across her lap.

“I won’t leave you Mirage,” Shadow assured. Mirage relaxed, putting her head on Shadow’s chest and gently returning his hug.

“I’m sorry, Shadow,”

“When were you going to tell me?”

“When I thought you trusted me enough that it didn’t matter,”

Shadow carefully touched his forehead to Mirage’s head, “I trust you.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” Shadow admitted, “I just do. Maybe your aura is getting to me.”

“Shadow, I’m exhausted,”

“So?”

“So, I’m not emanating enough aura to affect your mood or behavior right now,”

Shadow hid his smile from Mirage, he was partially nervous; how did all this happen? What possessed him to pick her up? To hug her? To…suddenly be his old self, as if he looking after Maria on the Ark again.

“Was you just trying to get me to talk to Sonic when you said he was one of Arin’s family?” Shadow asked, trying to change the subject before she noticed.

“Arin was our grandfather,” Mirage replied in a sweet voice, “I didn’t make anything up.”

“Is he really the only one who would know?”

“Yeah,”

“If the massacre happened ten years ago, then you would have been four,” Shadow stated, “was you too young to remember?”

“I barely remember anything from before that day,” Mirage answered, “Our father was already teaching Sonic what to do, before the massacre, to lead the family someday. If anyone knows it would be him, I swear.”

“Okay, I believe you,”

“I’ll talk to him if you don’t want to do it yourself,” Mirage offered.

“Is Manik your brother too?” Shadow wanted to change the subject again.

“He’s my cousin,”

“Three leaders down, one to go,”

Mirage sighed, admitting defeat, “Sage is Manik’s sister, she’s a yellow aura.”

“I’ll keep it secret, I promise.”

“Shadow, why don’t you just…”

“Just what?”

“Lead my sector with me?”

Shadow moved his head to look at Mirage with a confused expression, “You want me to lead an organization I have no knowledge of?”

Mirage’s eyes shift, as she tries to come up with an answer, “If I tell you about the massacre, will you-”

“No,” Shadow interrupted, “I will…I will join and see what it’s about but don’t get your hopes up. I don’t think I’m the kind of person who should be leading a secret organization. I enjoy your company, but I’m not a people person.”

“Dealing with people is Manik’s job,” Mirage clarified, “Your job would be the same as mine, an enforcer, we protect them from being discovered, but we don’t let outsiders know our association with the Array. If they knew, then people would assume all Christmonians of the Array are violent.”

“Fine, I’ll consider it,” Shadow replied.

“My brother just calls meetings if something is wrong and it needs all of us to address it,” Mirage continued, “So it wouldn’t be like you worked for him or anything like that. All leaders have equal say.”

“I said, I’ll consider it,”

There was a brief moment of silence.

“When I regain my aura,” Mirage began, “I’ll show you what happened during the massacre if you want me to.”

“What do you mean by ‘show me’ what happened?”

“I can use my Hullakinesis to show you my memories and some that my family shared with me afterward. It’s really only our point of view of what happened, but it’s everything we know. It would be easier for me that way, because even if I get emotional I can still keep up the illusion.”

Shadow hesitated, he knew accepting this offer meant watching a ten-year-old tragedy through the eyes of at least four survivors. This was an opportunity to learn about what happened to the village and Mirage, but also Sonic. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be able to sympathize with Sonic, but Mirage’s story is his story too, so that would be hard if Shadow wanted to know more about her. Shadow was somewhat frightened by the idea, not only because he knew it would mean seeing the deaths of possibly hundreds of people’s lives, but also obligate him to talk about the Ark. Even more, his fear of becoming too attached to Mirage was being realized. He was already developing feelings for her that he couldn’t explain, feelings that he has never had before. Was it already too late? Did it even matter at this point? Mirage had him from the moment he shook her hand the first time they met.

The unexplainable feelings were very new, but regardless Shadow has fell down the slippery slope of trusting Mirage. He felt like himself again, he never thought that was possible. Shadow remembered Mirage’s metaphorical pool of knowledge that she attempted to ease him into. In a week, he’s gone from being waist deep to in over his head. ‘What the hell?’ Shadow thought, ‘I’m already drowning, might as well accept it.’

“Okay,” Shadow agreed.


	8. True Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mirage shows Shadow a collection of memories to form the entire story of the Christmas Island Massacre from the view of the surviving members of her family.

The next morning, Shadow woke up to the sun rays entering his bedroom window and shining on his face. All things considered, it was a nice day for an island where it always snowed. He looked nervously to his shut door, if Mirage slept well then her aura will have been restored. Shadow was curious about the events, but also scared of having to watch them. There was obviously going to be gruesome imagery, after all, it was a massacre and there was no getting around that fact.

Shadow finally found the will to get up, reminding himself that the sooner they begin, the sooner it will be over. His room was down the hall from Mirage’s, as he walked past it, he noticed the door was open and peeked inside. There was no sign of Mirage and her bed had already been made. He continued to the kitchen, where he found her drinking a cup of coffee.

“Are you alright?” Shadow asked.

“Yeah,” Mirage replied softly, “I’m just dreading this.”

“You don’t want to show me?”

“It’s not that, I just don’t want to remember,”

Shadow could sympathize with her, he often felt the same about his own tragic memories, “You don’t have to show me Mirage.”

“No, I promised that I would show you what happened and I’m going to do that,”

Shadow nodded in agreement, “Alright.”

“Do you want anything before we start?”

“I’ll be fine,”

“You may not feel like eating afterward,” Mirage warned, “But I’m not eating so I won’t throw up, so I guess it’s a lose-lose situation.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Shadow assured.

“Okay,” Mirage sat down her empty cup and walked towards the living room with Shadow following behind her. “It might be best to sit; this may take a while.”

Mirage sat down in the middle of the couch so that Shadow could sit at the end, where he usually would. He took his seat next to her as Mirage lifted her hand to remove her inhibitor ring. Mirage became to glow with her turquoise aura and she laid her inhibitor ring on the coffee table not far away. “Are you ready?” she asked.

“Do you…need me to…?” Shadow cautiously reached for Mirage’s hand but didn’t touch her.

“You want to hold my hand?” Mirage asked curiously.

“If it will help you relax,” Shadow answered. Mirage nodded and moved her hand into Shadow’s, wrapping her fingers around his, their hands drawing closer together until their palms touched. Mirage looked Shadow in the eyes and he nodded to let her know he was ready. Her green colored eyes quickly turned turquoise and even though Shadow didn’t realize it, so was his.

He was suddenly in a different looking home, all be it still in what seemed to be a living room. It was obvious that this was not the same house. Shadow felt like he was having an out-of-body experience, as he could no longer see his hands or any other feature of his own body; only his surroundings.

A small girl with light blue fur ran down the hall, wearing a coat and headed straight for the door of the house. The little girl was clearly Mirage, even though her long bangs had not yet fully grown out, Shadow easily recognized her.

“Where do you think you’re going, young lady?” A female voice asked. She had entered from what was likely the kitchen, with her hands on her hips. Her dark purple fur stood out to Shadow, as did the woman’s long purple hair.

“But bubby gets to go with Daddy,”

“Your brother has to start learning how to lead this array when he grows up,” the woman argued, “You will have an important job to do someday too Skylar, be patient.”

“Okay mommy,” the young Mirage admitted defeat, sulking as she lowered her head in sadness.

“Here,” The woman said sweetly, picking up a doll from the floor and handing it to Mirage, “Play for a little while and maybe I can see if Grandpa Arin will take you Christonite mining with him.”

“Okay,” the young Mirage replied, smiling.

Shadow suddenly felt the tips of Mirage’s fingers push slightly into his knuckles. He couldn’t see her, but he could still feel her real-life presence. Something bad was about to happen. The mother had walked back into the next room, leaving the young Mirage to play on her own. For a few moments, she happily hugged and played with her doll. Then suddenly a strange whistling noise pierced the quiet of the home.

“Huh?” The young Mirage chirped as she dropped her doll and walked towards the window to see where the noise was coming from. Shadow had an unnerving sense of dread as the child crawled up on the end table in order to look through the glass.

“Don’t!” Shadow yelled instinctively, but there was nothing he could do. The young Mirage could not see nor hear him; this has already happened.

The window was suddenly illuminated with a bright light, which caused Mirage to put her hands up, wrist out, to cover her eyes. A loud BANG followed and a strong blast which instantly shattered the window and sent the shards flying into the exposed skin of Mirage’s arms.

“AHHHHHH!” Mirage screamed, falling to the floor. Her arms began to bleed heavily and the blood pooled around her. Large tears streamed from her eyes as the young Mirage screamed in pain, forcing herself to roll over onto her stomach. “Mommy!”

The house rapidly caught fire and was beginning to collapse. Loud cracking noises were echoing through the house in rapid succession. No one answered the tiny Mirage’s calls. Another cracking sound caught Shadow’s attention as a beam above Mirage fell and landed on the back of her legs, pinning her to the ground.

“AHHHH!” she screamed again and continued to cry from the intense pain. The front door was suddenly knocked down and a young Sonic rushed into the flames.

“Sky!” He called out, running through the flames to reach his sister. Without hesitation, he pushed the burning beam off of Mirage, burning his arms and hands in the process. Sonic winced but didn’t scream or cry as he scooped his sister up and ran back out the way he came in. Shadow felt like he was moving to follow them, but he really didn’t need to move at all, the illusion was automatically adjusting his viewpoint.

Outside, several other houses were on fire and it was spreading from one home to the next rapidly. Sonic looked around, confused and frightened. The screams of many people could be heard as mass panic gripped the village.

“Dad!” He called.

“Maurice!” A male voice called, sounding far away. Sonic turned to look in the opposite direction and a blue hedgehog who resembled him came into view. His most noticeable feature was his small mustache and he was carrying a small girl with pastel pink fur with one arm and hold the hand of a young boy with green fur with his other hand. The boy looked like Manik, so the girl must have been Sage.

“Uncle Chuck!” Sonic yelled in reply. He took off as fast as he could to reach his uncle.

“Come quickly!” Chuck urged the children as he leads them into the forest. Eventually, the village was far behind them and they stopped to catch their breath.

“Dad! Sky is bleeding!” the young Manik yelled. Sonic looked down and was shocked to find blood all over his sister.

“Give her here!” Chuck demanded. Sonic quickly turned his sister over to his uncle. Once she was gone from his arms, he looked down again to find himself covered in her blood as well. Most of the blood was concentrated on his chest and it was clear that Mirage’s blood had stained Sonic’s gloves and socks, as it had run down his legs as he carried her.

“Maurice is bleeding too,” the young girl cried.

“No,” Sonic said, his voice trembling in fear, “I’m not.”

“Sonya, Gavan, help your cousin clean up, I’ll take care of Skylar,”

“Okay,”

Chuck looked over Mirage’s wounds quickly, “Wait!”

“Sonya, do you have your manicure kit”

“Yeah,”

“Give me the tweezers,” Chuck instructed, “Gavan, give me your shirt.”

Sonya quickly retrieved the tweezers from her bag and handed them to her father. Likewise, Manik quickly removed his shirt. “Thank you, now go.”

The children ran off, but the illusion did not follow them, it stayed with Chuck. Shadow watched as he pulled glass shards from Mirage’s arms. She cried and screamed in pain with each piece that was removed from her skin.

“I know baby, I’m sorry that it hurts, but I have to get them out,” Chuck apologized. After he removed the shards, he tore Manik’s shirt into strips and wrapped Mirage’s arms. She trembled furiously, almost as if she were having a seizure, but it was all from fear and shock. Mirage’s breathing was shallow and she occasionally made a choking noise.  “Take deep breaths, Skylar,” Chuck instructed.

Mirage attempted to take deeper breaths, but they sounded more like the sad gasping of someone who had been crying in devastation for a long period of time. Chuck reached out and gently stroked Mirage’s cheek with his thumb, “You’re so pale.”

Mirage’s eyes began to slowly close. “No! NO!” Chuck called, “Don’t fall asleep Skylar! I know it hurts, but you have to stay awake, please don’t close your eyes!” His pleading was in vain, Mirage’s eyes shut, regardless of his efforts. Chuck quickly tried to shake her gently in an attempt to make her eyes open again. “Wake up Skylar! Wake up!”

Nothing. No sound, no movement, no response what so ever. Chuck quickly moved his hand to Mirage’s neck to check for a pulse. “She’s still alive,” he said relieved. The other three children returned, Sonic was now mostly clean of blood, except for the stains on his clothes.

“Is she okay?” Sonic asked. Chuck picked Mirage up and put her back into Sonic’s arms.

“Listen to me Maurice, I need you to hold your sister, don’t let her get cold,”

“Okay,”

“I…I don’t know if she’s going to make it,” Chuck admitted, “She’s lost so much blood.”

Sonic shook his head no and began to cry.

“I know, I know,” Chuck said comfortingly, “but she’s still alive right now. Hold her tight and don’t let her get cold and she might have a chance.”

“Okay,” Sonic said, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“I want all of you to come over here and hide while I go back and see if anyone else made it. Do you understand me?”

The children huddled up together and hid in a hollow tree that was still standing. Sage and Manik wrapped their arms around Sonic and Mirage.

“Don’t worry Maurice,” Sage said sweetly, “We won’t let her get cold.”

Shadow felt heartbroken for the four young hedgehogs, all alone in the middle of the forest. Time elapsed quickly in front of him, skipping ahead to when Chuck returned. The three children came out of their hiding place, Sonic still holding Mirage.

“Maurice, I’m sorry,” Chuck began, “Your parents…they didn’t…”

“NO!” Sonic cried, falling to the ground, holding his sister even tighter. Chuck tried to reach out to take Mirage from Sonic, but he recoiled. “NO!” he shouted again, “You can’t take her!”

“Maurice, please.”

“NO!” Sonic yelled, tears rushing down his face, “She can’t die!” Sonic compassionately touched his forehead to his sister’s, “Please Sky, please don’t die and leave me all alone.” Sonic’s body suddenly began to glow with a blue colored aura.

“What?!” Chuck exclaimed, “His aura has woken!” Chuck then realized that Mirage’s bandages were becoming ragged very quickly and her clothes were beginning to fade. “This is chronokinesis! Maurice stop! You could kill her!”

Sonic lifted his head to glare at his uncle angrily, his normally green colored eyes glowing blue. Sage acted swiftly and removed an earring from her ear; an inhibitor ring like Mirage’s. She began to glow with a yellow aura and quickly put her palm on Mirage’s chest. The yellow and blue auras mixed and flickered with a green color occasionally. Mirage suddenly took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Sonic calmed down and his eyes returned to their normal color, even though his body was still glowing. Sage backed away and picked her inhibitor ring back up.

“Sky! Are you okay?” Sonic asked. The color had returned to her skin and she was no longer pale like she was previously.

“Uh huh,” Mirage replied innocently. Sonic hugged her tightly,

“You scared me!”  

 The illusion faded away and Shadow found himself in the familiar living-room of Mirage’s house. She quickly pulled her hand away from Shadow’s to cover her face. She was visibly upset and obviously crying. Shadow cautiously wrapped his arms around Mirage to console her, but he didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry,” was the only words Shadow could manage to say.

“It never really gets any easier,”

“I know,” Shadow replied, “Now it’s my turn, to tell the truth.”


	9. Poison Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Amy falls ill, Sonic checks up on her, only to realize she is going into Hysteria and calls an emergency meeting with The Array Leaders to find out what has happened.

Shadow took his time to carefully explain the fact that he was an experiment designed to be immortal and immune to diseases. That his creator, Gerald Robotnik, was desperately trying to find a cure to a deadly disease his granddaughter would enviably die from. When the military found out that Gerald had been using his funding to create an artificial lifeform rather than weaponry for them like he was contracted to, they raided the facility. Their goal was to destroy Shadow and all research related to him and his creation. 

However, while trying to engineer the cure to his granddaughter Maria’s disease, Shadow was kept at the facility and grew close to Maria. In a selfless act of friendship, Maria sacrificed herself to save Shadow from the military and sent him to Mobius. There he was entered into a stasis sleep for fifty years until he was woken recently with no explanation.

Mirage was surprised, but not bothered by Shadow’s confession. She was sympathetic to his situation and now his confusion about Christmonians made even more sense.

“Shadow, I think you should really talk to my brother,” Mirage encouraged, “I know you don’t like Sonic, but if anyone would know about you, it would be him.”

Shadow looked away and huffed in frustration. Mirage gently places her hand on top of Shadow’s. He looked back at her with a surprised expression on his face, which softened when he saw Mirage’s soft smile.

 

Meanwhile, on Bygone Island, Sonic was visiting Amy, checking up on her since she had not been feeling well lately.

“Hey Amy, how are you feeling today?” Sonic asked, entering the living room to find Amy sitting in the dark.

“Terrible,” Amy replied, “I feel like I’m getting worse each day. These are the worst migraines I’ve ever had.” She rubbed her hand across her forehead and closed her eyes. Sonic approached carefully and sat next to Amy on the couch,

“Do you need me to get you anything?”

“I don’t know. I’ve tried everything and nothing has worked, and It just keeps getting worse,” Amy groaned. She lifted her head to look at Sonic, opening her eyes which suddenly glistened with a pink color within the pupil. Sonic was taken aback, he had seen this kind of thing happen before.

“Amy, are you a Christmonian?”

Amy seemed shocked by the question and her expression turned fearful quickly,

“Well, I am… but I don’t have any abilities.”

“No, I think you do,” Sonic replied, “You need to come with me.”

“No, Sonic! Please, don’t turn me in, I swear I don’t have any powers!” Amy pleaded.

“What? I’m not turning you in Amy, I’m going to help you,”

“W-Why?”

Sonic smiled softly, removing his right glove from his hand. On his ring finger was a golden ring, which he removed, causing his body to glow with a blue aura.

“I’m a Christmonian too,”

“Sonic…”

“I’ve seen this before Amy, you’re showing signs of going into a Hysteria fit,”

“I don’t have any powers,” Amy insisted.

“Your pupils just gleamed with your aura, that’s means you’ve built up too much of it and that’s not good for you to do Amy. Improper control of your aura can make you sick, in fact, I’m astounded that you haven’t already gone into a fit. You need to come with me because my sister and my cousin can help you get better.”

“You have an array?”

Sonic sighed impatiently, putting his inhibitor ring back on along with his glove. He picked Amy up and took her to an area she was not familiar with. Unknown to her, this was an emergency meeting place for Array leaders. Sonic quickly picked up a phone and started dialing numbers and asking the recipients to come quickly. Within an hour, Sage, Mirage, and Manik arrived as well as Shadow to everyone’s surprise.

“What’s going on Sonic?” Sage asked.

“Her eyes are gleaming like she’s having a Hysteria fit, but she’s only complaining of a headache,” Sonic explained.

“Did you have a headache when you had a Hysteria fit, Mirage?” Sage questioned.

“No, that’s more of a symptom of Christonite poisoning,”

“Could she have both?” Manik chimed in. Mirage and Sage exchanged concerned looks as they examined Amy closely. Mirage pulled back the sleeve of Amy’s glove, finding it to be very pale in comparison to the rest of her skin.

“How is this possible?!” Sage exclaimed, “How can someone have Hysteria and Christonite poisoning at the same time?!”

“It’s got to be her inhibitor ring, we have to take it off,” Mirage answered.

“She’ll go into a full Hysteria fit,” Sage argued.

“Shadow!” Mirage called.

“What?” Shadow answered.

“I need a favor, please,”

Shadow came further into the room but did not answer Mirage directly. “Can you drain her of her aura when we remove her ring to stop her from going into Hysteria?”

“Are you insane?” Shadow asked.

“Didn’t we go over this already?”

Shadow sighed in frustration, “Fine.”

“Sage, remove the other one too, just in case,” Mirage instructed.

“Okay,”

The girls each removed a bracelet from Amy’s wrist, causing her pink colored aura to suddenly engulf her body for a brief moment before Shadow drained it; containing Amy’s aura in a sphere of his own aura. Amy immediately passed out from being drained. Sage went quickly to work on healing the effects of the Christonite. Mirage picked up both bracelets and inspected them.

“Both of these are inhibitor rings,” Mirage mused, “no wonder she had Christonite poisoning, even Shadow’s rings don’t have this much Christonite in them.”

Sage took a moment to look at Shadow, this was her first time meeting him,

“Wow Mirage, we’re incredibly lucky you found a Red with Ergo,”

Shadow growled quietly.

“I’m sorry,” Sage apologized, “I meant no offense.”

“Shadow’s not very social,” Sonic explained.

“What Red is?” Sage smiled.

Sonic and Shadow exchanged glares, but Sonic’s stare was still more on the soft side. Sage felt the tension between the two and felt intimidated. Mirage watched carefully, in case she needed to intervene.

“There’s no need to us to be hostile, Shadow,” Sonic broke the silence, a serious tone in his voice, “You helped my sister and you helped Amy. I have no quarrel with you.”

Shadow expression softened slightly and he took notice of Sage’s frightened and confused face. He relaxed his own tension, feeling bad for having intimidated her. He looked to Mirage, meeting her glaring eyes, observing his demeanor like a watchful mother. Shadow then returned his sight to Sonic and nodded as a gesture to show his agreement.

Sonic redirected his attention back to Mirage and Sage,

“So, what do you think happened?”

“How old is this girl, Sonic?” Sage asked.

“Twelve,”

“That explains a lot,” Mirage added, “Auras can sometimes flare up suddenly around that age and become stronger.”

“We will have to ask her some questions when she wakes up to know for sure, but if her inhibitor rings are abnormal, then maybe something odd is going on,” Sage commented.

“She got really nervous when I asked her if she was a Christmonian,” Sonic explained, “She begged me not to turn her in.”

“Turn her into who?” Manik asked, having never heard of anything like that before.

“I have no idea,” Sonic admitted.

“Do the children we rescue say anything to you, Sage?” Mirage asked.

“No,”

Shadow was suddenly starting to piece together what the Array was as an organization. Shadow suddenly remembered that Mirage had told him about children being abandoned by their parents if they developed powers. He looked to Mirage, to see her pulling an instrument from her pocket resembling a Swiss-army knife. She extended a sharp hook object and scratched a small area of gold off of Amy’s inhibitor ring, revealing a glowing pink crystal. Shadow remembered seeing this instrument in the display case at Mirage’s house.

Mirage shook her head in disbelief, she had never reached the Christonite under the gold so quickly before.

“This is beyond anything I’ve ever seen before,” Mirage commented, “This is not how you make an inhibitor ring. There is not enough gold to offset the crystal.”

“Someone is making fake inhibitor rings?” Manik questioned.

“Fake?” Mirage scoffed, “This isn’t even an inhibitor ring, it’s not designed to dispel an aura’s glow, it’s designed to nullify it.”

“Completely cutting yourself off from your aura isn’t healthy for a Christmonian,” Sage added.

“I don’t think she did it to herself,” Sonic expressed, “She claimed she didn’t have any powers, I don’t think she really knows, or she would have just bled her aura like Mirage.”

“Umm…Shadow?” Sage called, “Could you give part of her aura back, just enough to wake her up?”

Shadow floated the sphere over Amy, releasing a small part of the captured Fuchsia Aura back to her. She stirred and slowly opened her eyes.

“What happened?” Amy questioned.

“Are you alright now, dear?” Sage asked.

“Umm…Yeah,” Amy replied, taking notice of all the people in the room with her, including Shadow. “What’s going on?” Amy then noticed Mirage had her bracelets and lunged forward. “Give those back!”

Mirage snatched them away from Amy, “No! They’ll make you sick again!”

“Huh?” Amy questioned.

“Amy, calm down,” Sonic pushed her back into the bed, “Mirage is an expert on inhibitor rings, she knows what she’s doing.”

“I don’t have inhibitor rings,” Amy replied, “I don’t have powers.”

“And yet, here I am holding a sphere of your aura,” Shadow spoke harshly.

“Shadow!” Mirage scolded. Mirage turned back to Amy, “Actually, you do have powers and these bracelets have an overwhelming amount of Christonite in them. You were exposed to too much of it for too long and you got Christonite Poisoning. When your aura flared up suddenly, you went into Hysteria, but the large amount of Christonite in your bracelets held it back enough for you not to go into a full fit. I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life. Where did you get these?”

“From…my parents,” Amy replied sadly, “They told me to never take them off.”

Mirage looked at Sonic with concern, who returned a similar expression.

“This isn’t good,” Sage commented.

“What do you mean?” Amy asked.

“Normally, when a Christmonian child is born to Non-Christmonian parents…they…abandon them,” Sage explained.

“Why would anyone do that?” Amy questioned.

“Why were you afraid to be turned in?” Manik returned.

“My parents said bad things happen to Christmonians,” Amy answered, “I remember them talking about a village full of them being killed when I was little.”

The room went awkwardly silent for a moment, then Sonic approached Amy’s bedside.

“Amy, this is Sage, she’s my cousin. She’s going to explain to you how to properly manage your aura,”

“Okay,”

“This is my sister, Mirage,” Sonic gestured to Mirage, “She’ll make you a proper inhibitor ring and help you figure out what your powers are.”

Amy blushed, fearing she may have made a bad first impression on Mirage.

“And this is Manik,” Sonic continued, “He’s going to explain to you what The Array is.”

“An array is a group of hedgehogs,” Amy commented.

“Not _an_ array, _The_ Array,” Manik corrected. 


	10. Truce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Shadow calls a truce with Sonic, will he finally get the answer to the question that his been on his mind for months?

Sonic left Amy to Sage, Manik, and Mirage, leaving the room with Shadow following him and shutting the door behind him. The two made sure to be far enough away that their own conversation would not seep through the door. Shadow could see an odd switch in Sonic’s attitude and behavior, remembering that Mirage had told him that Sonic usual attitude was a façade. With recent events, it was obvious that Shadow would have to talk to Sonic, now seeming as good a time as any.

“You seem upset,” Shadow attempted to start a conversation.

“You think?!”

Shadow stared angrily at Sonic, and grit his teeth for a moment before calming himself, “I’m trying, don’t make me regret it.”

Sonic sighed, “You’re right, I’m sorry. Truce?”

“Truce,” Shadow agreed. “Is it because it’s her or is it about the Array?”

“Both,” Sonic admitted. “None of us realized there was a specific group targeting Christmonians. This is the first I’ve ever heard of parents going to this kind of extreme before. Amy might not have been the only one, there may be people out there who are, at best, very sick with Christonite poisoning.”

Shadow didn’t need to ask what they worse case scenario was, he already knew. Sonic seemed to be racking his brain with possibilities and his expression had turned deadly serious.

“Is it possible to grow Christonite in a laboratory?” Shadow asked.

Sonic’s expression turned puzzled, “That’s a good question, I don’t know. I’m not even sure what it is about the island that causes it to grow in the first place beside the cold climate. I’ll have to ask Mirage for a sample and see it Tails can figure it out. It’s becoming more obvious that the four of us aren’t enough to lead the Array on our own anymore, it’s grown too large.”

Sonic’s serious tone and attitude was still strange to Shadow, but he was surprised to find himself warming up to the _real_ Sonic. It was much easier for Shadow to tolerate Sonic when he wasn’t acting like a self-absorbed brat. He still couldn’t manage to bring himself to ask Sonic if he knew who was meant to take him in, but noticed that Sonic was thinking hard about something. Desperate to keep from having to ask Sonic, Shadow uncharacteristically decided to ask him what was on his mind,

“What’s bothering you?”

Sonic looked at Shadow strangely for a moment, taken aback by his show of concern. “I was just thinking that if Amy had been given her inhibitor rings as a child then the only place where Christonite could have been obtained would have been Christmas Island. We had that island covered in traps and besides that, Christonite is hard to locate and mine. Even Mirage has a very hard time finding it and she began learning those skills at a young age from our grandfather. Making inhibitor rings is equally a difficult task and regardless of the abnormal amount of the crystal in Amy’s inhibitor ring, I can tell it wasn’t made by an amateur.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I think my uncle made her rings,” Sonic replied, “No ring maker is without their signature. Since the process is so difficult, many of them end up doing something different than others. Mirage would have to look at it to tell for certain, but I’m almost positive it’s one of his.”

“Sonic?” Sage’s quiet voice was barely loud enough to get his attention. Sonic looked at her compassionately,

“What Sage?”

She was holding Amy’s inhibitor rings and she seemed to be embarrassed, hesitating to answer.

“I think Dad made these,” Sage managed to confess.

“Yeah, I thought so too,” Sonic replied, “Was he selling Christonite?”

“Well….no,” Sage answered, “But I think I do remember him making these rings for a desperate couple. There was nothing like the Array back then to help Christmonians after the massacre. As extreme as this might seem to us, I’m sure the parents didn’t mean for this to happen to her.”

“I’m sure you’re right Sage, but now I’m concerned the problem may be worse than we previously realized,”

“Oh, no,” Sage groaned, “I have so many children under my supervision right now, please don’t make us go looking a needle in a haystack.”

Sonic laughed, “You know I wouldn’t do that to you, Sage. Amy loves kids, why don’t you ask her to help you watch the kids and find homes for them?”

“Oh, I would appreciate the help, if she could spare the time. It may be difficult to time manage if you’re assigning Mirage as her mentor,”

“Mirage is a strict mentor, but she won’t mind being flexible for the sake of the kids.”

Sage giggled, “Could always count on her soft spot for children to convince her to do anything. I suppose she could help a couple of the children too, some of them are struggling with their abilities.”

“If anyone can understand that, it would be Mirage,” Sonic replied, “She struggled with her Hullikinesis for a long time.”

“I think she still struggles with it sometimes,” Sage added, she turned to walk back towards Amy’s room.

“Sage, one more thing,” Sonic called.

“Huh?”

“I want you and Manik to consider someone for leadership in your respective sectors,”

“Are you serious?” Sage seemed shocked.

“Yes,” Sonic assured, “I want two leaders per section within the next two years.”

“Wow, two years to make a decision?”

“It’s a huge decision, think about it carefully,”

“What about you and Mirage?”

“We already had this discussion,”

“She talked you into it, didn’t she?”

Sonic sighed, “Of course she did.”

“Well thank goodness, I’m starting to get overwhelmed doing this all by myself,” Sage smiled, walking away.

Shadow tried to avoid eye contact with Sonic, hating the fact that he was beginning to find him a respectable leader. The tension in the atmosphere heightened as Shadow could sense Sonic’s gaze, which somehow felt unnerving.

“What’s up with you?” Sonic asked, “Is Mirage’s aura getting to you that much?”

“Ugh,” Shadow grunted.

“A strong aura is overwhelming when you aren't used to being around other Christmonians, isn’t it?”

Shadow snarled, not wanting to answer the question, but he had practically answered it by his reaction alone. Sonic smiled, confidently, knowing the answer. “I wish my mother had still been alive when I woke you from stasis. You would have reacted much better to her aura than mine.”

Shadow’s eyes suddenly widened with shock, he had never known who it was that woke him,

“What did you say?!”

“I guess I should have told Mirage about you, but I didn’t want to overburden her. I’ll admit that was a dumb decision on my part, but I guess I just never expected to find you. My mother never managed it, neither did my grandfather, but they tried their damnedest,”

Shadow was speechless, having a hard time fathoming that Sonic’s family had looked for him. Sonic could tell Shadow was confused, which caused him to become confused in return,

“Did you not know my grandfather was supposed to adopt you?”

“I…I knew someone was supposed to,”

“You were made using my grandfather’s DNA, but according to a letter Gerald sent, after it was mixed with the other DNA it changed drastically and you didn’t retain any genetic relation to him,” Sonic explained, “But of course nothing like that matters to a Christmonian, we adopt abandoned kids all the time; it’s was a normal part of our culture. It makes you no less our family and despite how you feel about me, I will still always think of you as part of this array. If you’re more comfortable inserting yourself as is, rather than as you were meant to, that’s fine with me. Fifty years is a long time after all.”

“What makes you think I even want to?!” Shadow snapped. Sonic was unfazed and just smiled in reaction and chuckled lightly,

“Could have fooled anyone on that ‘no genetic relation’ part. You favor my grandfather a lot in physical appearance and you act just like him. Arin may have been rough around the edges and a little intimidating, but the man loved his family more than anything. I hope that wasn’t a part of his personality that skipped over you.”


	11. New Members

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy and Shadow are introduced to The Array.

Mirage went to work making Amy new inhibitor rings while she rested and regained her aura on her own. It would take a while, but not usually more than 36 hours to regain one’s aura. Mirage took the opportunity to get to know Amy and answer her questions. Amy was sitting up in the same bed, with Mirage sitting in a chair nearby. Amy was shy at first but eventually engaged Mirage in conversation.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you,” Amy apologized.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Mirage replied. She was focused on shaping the crystal in her hands with a tool that was strange to Amy. “Shadow was like that at first too.”

“I don’t mean any disrespect, but why is Shadow with you? I mean…you’re Sonic’s sister.”

“He didn’t know that at first,”

“You lied to him?”

“Never,” Mirage laughed, looking up from the crystal, “I just kept it to myself. What does it matter whose sister I am?”

“Sonic must feel similar, he never mentioned you before I got sick,”

Mirage was silent for a moment, and Amy picked up on that Mirage may have taken the statement the wrong way. Amy attempted to apologize, but Mirage spoke first,

“Do you really want to know why we don’t talk about each other?”

“… I don’t know,”

“It’s not that we don’t care about one another or anything,” Mirage began, “It’s just that it would do him no favors to openly claim me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Since he wants me to mentor you, I think you should know,” Mirage replied, “I’ve done some bad thing and I still sometimes have to do bad things. Do you know what an enforcer is?”

“Umm, yeah,” Amy answered, it’s someone who’s like a bodyguard for their array, appointed by the leader of said array.”

“That’s right,” Mirage confirmed, “I am our array’s enforcer and I am The Array’s enforcer.”

“Is it different?”

“Not really, I just act as if the people we help and protect are direct members of my array. Of course, I can’t follow them all around like an enforcer normally would at least stay very close to their array members. However, I still protect their identities and keep others from finding them who would do them harm, even if that means I must take some extreme measures.”

“Did you kill someone?”

“No, but I have left many with fewer body parts than when I found them,”

Amy was stunned and then something hit her, “Wait, were you the one who gouged out Dave’s eye?”

“Dave? Was that the scrawny blue beaver from the restaurant with the stupid name?”

“Yes!”

“Yeah, that was me,” Mirage admitted, “I didn’t really so much gouge it out as I just stuck my knife in his eye socket.”

Amy covered her mouth like she was about to vomit, but pulled herself out of it, “Why?”

“He tried to kidnap me,” Mirage replied nearly emotionless, “Or, I suppose it is more accurate to say he tried to kidnap Silica Thorn, but it was actually me.”

“Is Sicilia a member of The Array? Why were you disguised as her?”

“Because I am Sicilia Thorn,”

“What?!”

Mirage responded by using her Hullikensis to change her fur color and used her telekinesis to pull back her hair and put on her glasses since her hands were preoccupied with the crystal still. Amy was in shock to see that Mirage was telling the truth. Mirage returned to normal so she could focus again on the task of making Amy’s inhibitor ring.

“Oh, my goodness,” Amy rubbed her hands over her face in disbelief, “you guys are really running some covert secret organization with tons of conspiracies level shit going on, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know about _tons_ ,” Mirage laughed, “I’m the only member who operates like this currently. Sonic comes close, but still nowhere near the level of trickery I employ.”

“I feel so lied to,” Amy admitted, “I thought I knew Sonic.”

Mirage laughed a little louder than she had previously, “Oh, honey, I can assure you that the _real_ Sonic will be overjoyed with the fact he can be more open and honest with you now. He will not be a stranger to you any longer.”

“Did he want to tell me before this happened?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Mirage confirmed, “but he didn’t want to endanger any of you. Fighting Eggman is arguably a lot safer than being associated with Christmonians.”

“Yeah…” Amy agreed, with obvious sadness in her voice. She touched her left wrist with her hand, where one of her inhibitor rings once were. “I can understand that.”

“Most of us are just regular people, you know?” there was a strange sense of kindness in Mirage’s normally emotionless voice. “I’m not the rule, I’m the exception.”

Amy glanced up at Mirage and smiled, to which Mirage returned with her own. She picked up one of Amy’s old inhibitor ring and held it next to the crystal she had finished shaping. “What do you think? Did I get the size about right?”

“It’s slightly bigger,” Amy replied.

“Once I cover it in gold, it should be the same size as your old ones,”

“So…You’re going to mentor me?”

“If you want me to,” Mirage responded, “if after what I’ve told you, you’d like a different mentor, I’ll ask Sonic to assign you a new one.”

“Do you do this often?”

“Mentor? No,” Mirage replied bluntly.

“Then, why would he…”

“He thinks there’s something special about you,” Mirage interrupted, “I use to struggle controlling my powers and he probably thinks I can relate to you. Now, I’m not saying that I don’t in that regard, but I can tell you’re a lady of certain standards. I can understand if you perhaps didn’t want to be in the company of someone who went around chopping other people’s limbs off.”

“You’re his sister, though,” Amy returned.

“Just because my brother has a hero’s reputation doesn’t mean that I do,”

“But if you are only protecting your people, then you are certainly not a villain,” Amy argued, “how many innocent people have you hurt?”

Mirage dropped her head, “…one.”

“Oh,” Amy was surprised by the response, “You seem remorseful. Did you apologize?”

“Probably a hundred times,” Mirage’s voice was suddenly full of sadness and her eyes were welling up with tears that Amy could tell she was holding back.

“Will the person not forgive you?”

“He forgives me every time, but I could apologize a hundred thousand more times and he can forgive me for every one of those too…but I will still feel…” The tears finally pushed through, streaming down Mirage’s cheeks.

“It’s okay Mirage,” Amy comforted, “If he forgives you, then you should forgive yourself too.”

“How could I possibly apologize enough for what I did? Even if I was in a Hysteria fit, it’s no excuse,” A very serious and angered expression came over Mirage’s face and even the tears on her cheeks didn’t distract from how intimidating she seemed suddenly. Mirage’s features softened quickly, “I’ll tell Sonic to assign you a different mentor.”

“No!” Amy surprised herself with her quick reaction. Mirage looked at her, bewildered,

“No?”

“Mentor me,” Amy insisted.

“Okay,” Mirage agreed reluctantly.

 

Meanwhile, Shadow was having a conversation with Manik, who was explaining how The Array works.

“Okay, so, Sonic is the leader of our array but we are all leaders of The Array,” Manik explained. “As of now, each of us are in charge of one ‘sector,’ which is basically just an area we are assigned to watch over. Mirage is our enforcer and has more duties than the rest of us, so her sector has the least Christmonians. Sage has the most Christmonians in her sector, mostly because she cares for the kids who are abandoned by their parents who have no powers of their own. When she finds parents for them outside her sector, they are usually relocated to mine or Sonic’s sectors. I’m The Array’s active recruiter and I do a lot of traveling, so any of the others might check on things for me occasionally in my sector. I guess since Sonic wants us to choose co-leaders for our sectors, that won’t be as necessary anymore.”

“Mirage mentioned it to me, but I want to know more before I accept any sort of offer like that,” Shadow commented.

“That’s understandable,” Manik replied, “She probably needs more help than any of us, though, so were glad to see you helping her regardless.”

“Why is she burdened with so much then?”

“Well, it was just the four of us when we started,” Manik’s tone turned more somber, “she and Sonic are just more powerful than me or Sage. We can’t use our abilities for combat, but they can.”

“Aren’t you cousins to them?” Shadow asked, “aren’t your genetics similar enough?”

“Our father and Sonic’s father were brothers, they were both very intelligent but our dad was not much of a fighter,” Manik revealed, “Many Christmonians take new names when they get older, but our dad never took different name. Sonic and Mirage’s dad took the name Razor when he became one of Arin’s enforcers. He got the name because he invented a very thin but very sharp kind of razor wire that he booby trapped the Island with to keep people out.”

“I saw those,” Shadow recalled.

“Sonic use to keep them up after Razor’s death, when we were still living on the Island, when he left Mirage took over,” Manik sighed, “I’ve gotten a little off track, I meant to say that our side of the family wasn’t as powerful as Sonic’s mother’s side. Sonic’s mother was Arin’s daughter, and they were one of the head families on the island that lead the village. Razor mated into a lot of responsibility and likewise, Sonic was born into a lot of responsibility, but the massacre changed pretty much everything. As far as we know, Sonic and Mirage are the only members of a head family that survived that night.”

“What was so special about the head families?”

“They were the most powerful,” Manik replied without hesitation, “Arin’s family especially, they had more powerful auras than any other family on the island and were the most likely to inherit dual abilities. Mirage struggled with her aura for a long time, even when she was bleeding it to keep from going into Hysteria. Sonic has an easier time since he uses his powers practically all day long.”

Shadow suddenly seemed very troubled and Manik noticed there seemed to be gears turning in his head. After a moment of silence, Manik spoke up, “Are you alright?”

“It’s nothing,” Shadow insisted, “One thing bugs me, though, why did so many die during the massacre if Christmonians had psychic powers?”

“A majority of Christmonians don’t have abilities like Mirage or Sonic, their abilities are uncommon. There was maybe three telekinetics in the village at the time of the massacre, including Mirage and her mother. Most of the village had powers similar to me and Sage; healing, empathy, clairvoyance, ergokinesis, hullakinesis, astral projection, precognition, hypnosis, the list goes on. None of these abilities could really help anyone escape a massive fire that _NO ONE_ prepared for; it was just mass panic and chaos.”

“I’m sorry,” Shadow apologized.

“It’s fine,” Manik returned, “Will you be coming to Sage’s orphanage tomorrow with Mirage and Amy?”

“I’m not sure,”

“I think you should join them,” Manik insisted. “You’ll get a pretty good understanding of what we’re fighting for by seeing the children.”

Shadow sighed, “Fine.”


	12. The Orphanage of Sector 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow and Mirage join Sonic, Amy, and Sage at the orphanage in sector 4, where Sage is the leader in charge of finding abandoned Christmonian children new homes and tending to the wounded.

Sonic kept Amy at the secret location overnight, knowing that she would begin to glow once her aura returned. The next day, he brought her some clothes from her house and took her to Sage’s sector. Sage preictally ran the orphanage from her own home, usually having no more than five children at a time. However, several months ago, Mirage rescued seven children who in a group trying to survive together. In addition to the three children Sage already had, it made her an even ten children.

It is not always easy for Sage to find the children new homes. She usually will assess the children’s abilities and place them with parents that can handle that type of ability. Sage keeps a list of couples and individuals willing to adopt on hand, but can sometimes get overwhelmed by the children and healing those who come to her aid. The original three children Sage had, were recently been adopted, leaving the seven that Mirage rescued.

Sonic and Amy arrived first, and Amy was introduced to the children. They were fascinated with her, having never met an adult that did not know how to use their powers. At this point, Amy didn’t even know what her ability was at all. A flash of turquoise light caught everyone’s attention. The children knew immediately who it was,

“Lady Mirage!” they yelled. A few of them managed to reach her and hug Mirage around the waist.

“Hello children, good to see you again,” Mirage greeted.

“Who’s this man you brought with you?” one of the little girls asked.

“That’s Shadow, he’s a friend of mine,” Mirage answered, “He’s new to The Array, welcome him warmly.”

The children swarmed Shadow, asking questions. Shadow didn’t know what to think about all the children. He had seen some children from the village on Bygon Island before, but this was his first time seeing hedgehog children and was somehow surprised by how much smaller they were from the other children. Of the seven children, four of them were hedgehogs, two were rabbits and one was a bat.

“Do you know how to use your powers Mr. Shadow?” a little boy hedgehog asked.

“Yes,” Shadow replied.

“You’re already doing better than the lady Mr. Sonic brought,”

“Oliver, be nice to Miss Amy,” Mirage scolded.

“Yes Mame,”

The children continued with their questions,

“When did you meet Lady Mirage, Mr. Shadow?”

“What power do you have?”

“What’s your aura color?”

“Children, if you’re going to ask Shadow questions then ask one at a time,” Sage instructed, approaching the group with Sonic and Amy.

“I see you have your glow,” Mirage said to Amy.

“Yeah,” Amy replied.

“Then I guess you will be needing these,” Mirage pulled Amy’s new inhibitor ring and its duplicate from her pocket. She handed them to Amy, “The real one is a little lighter than the match.”

Amy put the bracelets on, making her glow disappear,

“Wow, they look just like my old ones.”

“I think you may have put Shadow a little out of his element, Mirage,” Sonic commented, noticing Shadow was becoming overwhelmed with the children’s questions.

“And here I thought, I was supposed to give an aura control lesson,” Mirage said loudly, attracting the children’s attention. They immediately ran towards her, insisting on the lesson and grabbing at Mirage’s dress. Amy smiled, wondering how Mirage could be so hard on herself when she seemed so beloved.

Sonic approached Shadow, leaving the girls with the children.

“Getting the picture?” Sonic asked. Shadow was briefly silent, looking at the children as the lined up for Mirage and walked away.

“What use to happen to children like this?” Shadow asked.

“Their parents would bring them to relatives on the Island to raise or move back to raise the children themselves,” Sonic answered, “But now there is no one left but Mirage, so they are just abandoned.”

“This is rather unsettling,” Shadow admitted.

“I’m too aware,” Sonic replied.

“Can they really be called orphans if their parents are still alive?”

“They may as well be,” Sonic’s tone turned somber, “Once people decide they don’t want us, they rarely change their mind.”

Shadow realized that Sonic was not just talking about the children, but the Christmonians as a whole. He began to sympathize with the notion of being and feeling unwanted; being put into stasis for that reason. Besides Gerald and Maria, the Christmonians were the only ones who didn’t make Shadow feel that way. He had never been accepted so quickly by others before.

“I haven’t figured out why yet,” Sonic spoke, breaking the silence, “But there are more Christmonians lately than ever before, both children and adults. Manik has found several families in hiding and brought them to his sector, Mirage found the children on a regular scouting mission and Sage has never had more than five at a time. That’s why I have insisted on two leaders per sector. Mirage has been subtly asking for help for a while now and she needs it more than the rest of us at this point.”

“If you knew she needed help, then why didn’t you send her any?” Shadow asked in an accusing tone.

“I did,” Sonic smiled slyly, “It just took me a while to get you two in the same place at the same time.”

“You bastard!” Shadow exclaimed, “you set that up?!”

“You will learn quickly not to put much past me,” Sonic replied, “besides, I could tell that you would not listen to me anytime soon, so I left you to my sister. I figured you would like her calming turquoise aura. I didn’t expect that you would like it so much you would move in with her, but that’s not really my business. Mirage is an adult and she is fully capable of making her own decisions and in a way, I’m glad she isn’t all alone anymore.”

“Then why did you leave her there?” Shadow was becoming increasingly irritated. Sonic’s expression shifted from sly to sad almost instantly,

“Let’s just say I had to and leave it at that for now.”

Shadow could sense it was something Sonic didn’t want to talk about, something that Mirage didn’t want to talk about either as she acted similarly. He calmed down, realizing that the puzzle pieces both of them were giving indicated something traumatic; something that greatly affected them both in some way. Ultimately, Shadow decided to let the matter go, as it was obvious that they were not ready to talk to him about it yet, but hinting that perhaps someday they would.

If this was a matter strictly about Sonic, Shadow might have gone off the handle already, but he was being objective for Mirage’s sake. He was aware that he is still almost like a stranger to them, even if he did know Mirage somewhat. Shadow has been staying with Mirage for a while and is aware that she can be the kind of person that instills fear in others when she goes out in her mask and hood but has not yet seen that side of her for himself. Likewise, the Sonic that Shadow thought he knew is hardly the real Sonic and it was becoming more and more clear to him who Sonic truly is; a cunning and calculating leader, far more intelligent than Shadow ever gave him credit for being. Sonic had everyone outside The Array completely fooled.

 

Meanwhile, Mirage had given Amy and the children a basic breathing exercise to help them relax and focus their aura properly. She instructed the children to practice on their own, while she helped Amy determine what her own abilities were.

“Have you discovered anything about your abilities on your own yet?” Mirage asked.

“I don’t know, I don’t really feel much different than before, besides feeling more energized,”

“I would say so, your old inhibitor rings were absorbing too much of your aura and barely leaving you with any for regular activities,”

“Sonic said it was a miracle I was able to fight all this time like that,”

“He’s not the only one impressed, but you have gone most of your life living as you were, learning how to control your aura will be difficult at this point. Sonic seems to think you will pick up on it quickly though,”

“Really?” Amy smiled.

“If there is any quality that my brother has high admiration for, it is determination,” Mirage complimented.

“Then, how do I figure out what my ability is?”

“We can do some tests,” Mirage answered. Suddenly, Amy froze in place as the green color of her eyes turned pink for a brief moment. When the pink faded back to their normal green color, Amy began to move again,

“What kind of tests?”

Mirage’s puzzled expression confused Amy and she looked around, “Where did Sage go?”

Just as Amy asked about Sage, she joined them and whispered about having found families for some of the children while she was in the house during Mirage’s lesson.

“I found homes for five of them, just two more,” Sage smiled with glee, “I hope the last two I get are close together with the others so they can stay friends.”

“I feel like I’m having déjà vu,” Amy commented, “Didn’t you just tell us that a moment ago?”

“What?” Sage asked, confused.

“Well, seems like we won’t have to run any tests,” Mirage spoke, “Amy’s precognitive.”

“I’m what?”

“You see the future, dear,” Sage explained, “It’s a common ability.”

“You got motionless during your vision a moment ago, but in time you will stop that when you become more experienced,” Mirage commented.

“She might need a catalyst to help her focus, Mirage,” Sage suggested.

“Good idea, Sage,” Mirage agreed, teleporting away.

“Oh, I hate it when she does that,” Sage said, annoyed. Mirage returned, holding a small box, which she handed to Amy,

“Know what these are?”

Amy took the box and looked at it, “Tarot cards?”

“Tarot cards are a great catalyst and much more portable,” Mirage explained, “There is another girl in my sector that uses them, she also keeps them in a card box that attaches to her belt.”

“That seems like a good idea,” Amy replied, taking the cards out of the box.

“Today we will focus on teaching you how to feel a premonition coming and how to stop it, so you don’t go around with random glowing pink eyes.”

“My eyes glow when I have a vision?” Amy asked nervously, touching her cheeks, just under her eyes.

“Relax dear,” Sage encouraged, “It’s an easy ability to control once you get the hang of it.”


	13. The Dark Side of the Enforcer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Manik reports that Christmonians from his Sector has gone missing. Can Mirage and Shadow find them in time before a rumored grizzly fate befalls them?

A few months later, Mirage sat in the kitchen reading a new mission request sent by Manik. The document detailed a rumor spreading among many of the new recruits that someone had begun rounding up Christmonians. Manik was looking into the validity of the rumor when some of the Christmonians from his sector were reported missing after they had gone into town for groceries and other supplies. There was no evidence that Sector 3 had been compromised, making it much more likely that the supposed abduction had taken place outside the area.

As Mirage read more of the details, she became increasingly concerned about the situation and decided to take the mission and investigate. Shadow walked into the room, finding Mirage still reading the request on her holo-screen. Mirage didn’t mind Shadow seeing mission requests, in fact, she was hoping he would be intrigued and ask to accompany her someday. However, for this specific mission, she thought it was best to ask him directly.

“Shadow?” Mirage began.

“What?”

“Manik has sent me a request, but I think I may need your help with this one,”

“Why? What’s happened?” Shadow asked curiously, as it was unlike Mirage to ask him for help.

“Possible abduction of several Christmonians have been reported,” Mirage explained, “Manik was looking into the rumors when some of our own went missing.”

“Why is this something we need to take care of exactly?” Shadow could tell Mirage was holding something back.

“Because according to the rumors, these Christmonians are usually never seen again,”

Shadow was beginning to understand what Mirage was implying. He had been part of The Array long enough to know that Christmonians from within the organization don’t just lose contact with one another; it just doesn’t happen. This was a legitimate concern, especially since there have been multiple attempts in the past to get rid of Christmonians, one way or another. Honestly, Shadow had been hoping she would ask him to go with her on a mission recently, being both curious and reluctant to see the other side of her personality. He wasn’t so much afraid of it making him like her less, but that he would actually end up liking her more. Shadow felt as if he was maybe beginning to cross the line of friendship he had already been wary of and is now developing more substantial feels for Mirage.

Ultimately though, the severity of the situation could not be ignored,

“I’ll help you,” Shadow agreed.

“Great, but umm…,”

“What now?”

“I’m going to need you to put on a mask and hooded jacket,”

Shadow paused, glaring intensely at Mirage but she was unfazed. Over the time Shadow has been living with her, she grew immunity to his attitude. Shadow knew she was used to him now, and she returned a soft gaze and smile was merely a tactic to make him annoyed. He broke eye contact with Mirage, quickly realizing he had lost their silent argument and signed,

“I’m not even surprised. Fine, I’ll wear it.”

“Thank you,”

 

Two days passed before the combined efforts of Shadow and Mirage yielded any search results. A promising lead brought the duo to a deserted area out in the canyons where there have been rumors of haunting, bloodcurdling screams and crying. Many of the people who would pass through the canyon claimed they can only be heard at night and retold the happenings as though they were a ghostly campfire story. Some had worried about the validity of the noises, but couldn’t imagen that there was actually something horrific happening to real people on multiple different occasions.

They would need to set a trap to snare the person behind the disappearances. Mirage used up substantially more aura using her Hallucikinesis than her Telekinesis, so she would need to be precise when she casts her illusion. Luckily, Shadow found a trail that didn’t seem to be a regular route that most people traveled on through the canyon on regular basis. Thinking this might be a path taken by the person they were looking for, the two found a spot to hide and wait for someone to come through.

Just after dark had fallen on the canyon, a large truck drove along the path, it was moving slowly and the headlights were off. This was enough to arouse suspicion of the vehicle, prompting Mirage to cast an illusion of a large rock blocking the path just up ahead. The driver stopped and got out of the truck, but as Mirage and Shadow approached, a crystal around the man’s neck began to glow.

“Christmonians!” he yelled, pulling a weapon from the holster on his right side. A quick flash of turquoise light was seen as Mirage used her telekinesis to move a string of razor wire to cut the weapon in half, leaving only the handle in the grasp of the man’s shaking hand. The illusion of the rock blocking the path disappeared, due to Mirage losing her concentration when she reacted to the weapon being drawn.

The strange male weasel was then suddenly picked up and thrown against the canyon wall by Shadow. The crystal around his neck began to glow with a red color, as though it were reacting to Shadow’s aura. He reached out and grabbed the crystal, yanking it off the man’s neck.

“What’s this?” Shadow asked, holding the crystal up for Mirage to see.

“I don’t know, but we will find out,” Mirage answered, taking the crystal from Shadow and putting it in her pocket. She turned her attention to the man and used her telekinesis to hold him in place. “I’ll take care of him; will you search the vehicle?”

Shadow nodded and let go of the man and began walking to the truck. The door was still open, but Shadow decided to search the back first. The vehicle was large, almost the size of a moving van and the back opened up similar to a storage unit or garage door. Shadow stepped inside, finding the back to be completely empty, but something wasn’t right. There was a slightly foul smell mixed with the overwhelming scent of bleach and what appeared to be some bloodstains on the floor that was too stubborn to come out.

Shadow exited the back of the truck and closed the door back, returning to the front of the vehicle and searching the glove box, under the seats and other compartments. The center compartment contained a small plastic box, which Shadow opened to find two bracelet type inhibitor rings. He knew they had been made by Mirage, having become familiarized with her craftsmanship over the past few months. Shadow returned to Mirage, finding her mentally torturing the strange man with her Hallucikinesis. The man was screaming in agony and begging Mirage to stop.

“Do these look familiar?” Shadow asked, breaking Mirage’s concentration. Her glowing turquoise eyes returned to normal as she looked to see two inhibitor ring that she had made. She returned an angered gaze back to the man who was now free from the illusion she had cast on him.

“Where did you get those?” Mirage demanded.

“Fuck you, bitch!” the man replied.

“Oh, I love it when they prefer the hard way,” Mirage said menacingly. She used her telekinesis to move another string of razor wire, which came from a bracelet-like compartment on her wrist. Continuing to use her telekinesis, she forced the man’s right hand up. “Let’s make it a little harder for you to pull triggers on weapons, shall we?”

“Wait! NO!”

Mirage ignored the man’s pleading, psychically wrapping the wire around his index finger and slicing it off as if it were made of butter. He once again screamed in agony as blood began to gush from the small nub left on his hand. “I’ve heard of you, you’re the one they call Mirage.”

“Then you should also know that I will just keep relieving you of fingers if you don’t give me answers.”

“I took them from two Christmonians girls I kidnapped,”

“Where are they?”

“I’d rather die than tell you where they are,”

“Are you sure about that? I have no issue with torturing or killing you and I can assure that your death will not be quick or painless,” Mirage illustrated her point by using the razor wire to cut off the man’s middle finger.

“AHHHHHHH!” the man screamed, “Alright! I’ll tell you!”

 

Somewhere in the canyon, there was a hidden metal box that was large enough to hold as much as 50 people. Inside, there was perhaps only about 25 Christmonians chained to the walls with very little room to move. They were dirty, as their needs had not been attended to and all of them were hungry. Some of them had been there for nearly a week, terrified that any day could be their last. The only light was from the glow of each of their auras, but many of them were fading due to weakness.

“I’m scared,” one of the young ones cried.

“It’s okay, were all scared,” her older sister comforted her. They were the two Christmonians missing from Manik’s sector.

“Mirage hasn’t come yet,” the little girl continued to cry.

“It may be for the best little one, she may also be captured,” one of the adults commented.

“Some organization you were a part of,” another spoke, “it seems that they’ve left you to die.”

“No, you’re wrong,” the older girl denied.

“Someone’s coming!” one of the prisoners from the front yelled to warn everyone. They were all suddenly fear stricken, waiting for the door to open and for the man to come back. However, they were suddenly surprised when the door flew off its hinges and was thrown with tremendous force.

“That was one way to open it, I suppose,” Mirage commented as she watched the door Shadow had ripped from its hinges tumble across the ground several feet away.

“MIRAGE!!” the girls yelled in unison, happy to see her. The chains around their wrist and ankles did not allow them to move very far.

“Alright, hold still everyone,” Mirage instructed as she used her telekinesis to move her razor wire through the area and cut everyone’s chains. The girls ran to hug Mirage, which she allowed.

“We’re so glad to see you,” the older one said.

“That mean man took our inhibitor rings,” the little one added.

“Here, I found them,” Shadow replied, holding the girls’ inhibitor rings out to them.

“Who’s this?” the older one asked.

“We’re getting so big, I can’t do it all by myself anymore, so now we have a second enforcer,”

“Oh, thank you!” the little one said to Shadow as she took her inhibitor ring.

“Looks like Manik is going to have his work cut out for him today,” Shadow commented, seeing the large group of Christmonians.

“Sage too,” Mirage agreed, “We need to get them some food and medical treatment.”

“I’ll let them know we’re coming,” Shadow pulled a cell phone-like device from his jacket pocket and began to type on the small keyboard.

“Hold hands, everyone, we’re going on a quick trip,” Mirage stated. The other Christmonians looked at each other with a puzzled look, but with some encouragement from the little girls, they all held hands. In a flash of blue light, everyone was suddenly teleported to the orphanage in Sector 4.

“Whoa, that was faster than I expected!” Sage commented, startled by the large group’s sudden arrival.

“Hey you two, your parents have been worried,” Manik greeted the little girls. He had shown up by coincidence to bring Sage an abandoned child.

“Manik!” The girls ran to hug him.

“Hey Mirage, how about teleporting us to Sector three, real quick?” Manik asked, “I’ll take these two back home and we’ll come back with Vivian to help make these people something to eat.”

“Sure thing,” Mirage agreed.

Manik looked out to the crowd, “How many of you are joining The Array today?”

Everyone in the crowd swiftly lifted their hands. “Excellent,” Manik replied, “one, two, three…”

“Twenty-two,” Shadow interrupted.

“Awesome!” Manik smiled, “Hang out with Sage and get some medical treatment, we’ll be back before you know it.” In a flash of turquoise light, Mirage teleported away with Manik and the two girls.


	14. Twice A Survivor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of the Christmonains that Mirage and Shadow rescued was also a survivor of the Christmas Island massacre. She recognizes the leaders of the Array as children she grew up with and has a special request to ask.

In time, Manik and Mirage returned with another hedgehog woman. She wore a simple pastel yellow sundress and her fur was a lovely lilac color. Her name was Vivian, an empath like Manik, she could sense the emotions of others. Vivian was a sweet and shy girl of 15, but also very intelligent and soft spoken. Her violet aura revealed her as a wise and cautious personality type. Just as Mirage had Shadow, Vivian had been nominated for leadership by Manik. This was both of their “test-runs” as neither was sure they could be leaders of this organization, but hopefully, this incident would spur both of them to make a decision.

Vivian was immediately taken aback by the sight of some of the Christmonians conditions. Sage was working to heal them, but their hunger and fatigue were apparent. She quickly asked Sage’s permission to use her kitchen which was met with an enthusiastic yes and promise that Amy would soon arrive with Sonic to help her cook. Mirage was also a good cook but was now too exhausted to help further as she had nearly completely taxed out her aura.

“See now, you’ve overdone it again,” Shadow scolded as he set the drained Mirage down on Sage’s couch.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Mirage replied. She and Shadow had removed their masks and hoods, revealing their faces only to those in the house currently, as Manik was still giving orientation outside. Vivian wasted no time beginning to cook, drawing the attention of the children Sage had been caring for recently. Amy and Sonic arrived, coming into the house first before addressing the new members outside. There was no need to interrupt Manik and Sonic wished to speak with Shadow and Mirage, while Amy intended to start helping Vivian right away.

“Did you teleport all of them here at once?” Sonic asked.

“It was still the less taxing option than to go back and forth in several trips,” Mirage defended herself.

Sonic shook his head and turned his attention to Shadow, “I trust you’ve scolded her already?”

“I have,”

“Well, no need to beat a dead horse. Besides what’s done is done and these people are safe now,”

“Sonic,” Mirage called to get her brother’s attention, “Shadow removed this from the kidnapper.” Mirage reached into her pocket and pulled out the necklace. The crystal pendant was glowing with Mirage’s turquoise aura. Sonic reached out, taking the necklace by the chain and watched as the glow became a darker blue, as it reacted to Sonic’s aura.

“Oh, this isn’t good,” Sonic remarked.

“Have you seen something like this before?” Shadow asked.

“No, but I fully understand the implications,” Sonic replied, “this thing can detect the aura of a Christmonian even if they are wearing an inhibitor ring. This sort of item can be very dangerous.”

“Should we investigate this?” Shadow offered.

“We?” Sonic smiled, “are you accepting the enforcer position or leadership of Sector Two?”

“Both,” Shadow said with confidence.

“I had a feeling you would,” Sonic returned, “I would definitely like to know where this came from and why it was made. If you and Mirage want to take this on as a mission, I encourage it but do so after you rest for a few days first. I would prefer if the two of you worked on it in tandem with other missions for the time being. For all we know, this is the only item of its kind, so don’t send yourselves on a wild goose chase. However, if more of these starts appearing and more Christmonians begin disappearing, then take it more seriously.”

A knock came, followed by Sage opening the door with a female bat standing beside her.

“Sonic, Amber wishes to speak with you,” Sage called, “Do you remember her from the Island?”

“Seth’s daughter? Yes, of course, I remember her, our fathers were good friends,”

Amber timidly entered the house, shaking from both nerves and hunger, as Sage returned outside to tend to the others. Amber never imagined she would see whom she remembered as Maurice and Skylar again, let alone be intimidated by them. Sonic was 10 years younger than Amber, but as she stood before him now it felt as if he were some 20 years her senior.

“You look so much like Razor, it’s almost scary,” Amber began, “your sister is practically a clone of your grandmother, Lady Sicilia, and that man with her is very reminiscent of Lord Arin. I feel like I’m seeing ghosts from my past.”

“I hope it’s not a negative feeling,” Sonic commented.

“Not at all,”

“You seem unsteady Amber, come sit with Mirage and rest,” Sonic invited. Amber seemed unsure and looked to Mirage for permission.

“It’s alright,” Mirage encouraged, “please, sit with me.”

“Thank you, Lady Mirage,”

“That’s not necessary, just Mirage is fine,”

“Are you certain?” Amber asked, sitting next to Mirage.

“We may have gone by titles on the Island all those years ago, but we only see ourselves as leaders now; the titles mean nothing to us,” Sonic explained.

Amber sighed, “You two are so much like your father, he was the same way.”

“Your glow is very dull Amber, how long were you there?” Mirage asked.

“It was so hard to know whether it was day or night in that box, but a little over a week from when the two little girls were brought in; I asked them what day it was when they first got there.”

“They were gone three days before Shadow and I found you all,”

“Three days? It felt so much longer than that,”

“Did he take your inhibitor ring too?” Mirage asked.

“Yes, he bragged about how much money he got for selling it, along with my husband’s and my daughter’s rings,”

“Where did you get inhibitor rings for them?” Sonic asked.

“I made them myself,” Amber explained. “I came back to the village about a month after the massacre and managed to find some Christonite and gold in Arin’s workshop safe. I knew I would need it someday, but I’m so sorry for stealing it, I didn’t know…I didn’t know you two survived. The last time I saw you, Sonic was running into the forest with Mirage in his arms, leaving a blood trail in the snow.”

“It’s alright Amber, no hard feelings,” Sonic replied sympathetically, “Mirage will make you new ones.”

“I bet you’re every bit as skilled as your grandfather when it comes to craftsmanship, I remember you learning from him as a child,” Amber compliment to Mirage, “Mine was honestly amateurish, but they got the job done.”

“I’ll need to find more Christonite, if I’m going to make twenty-two inhibitor rings,” Mirage stated.

“Can I help you then, Mirage?” Amber offered, “Please.”

“Of course,”

“How often do you go back to the Island?”

“I still live there,”

“By yourself?”

“Shadow lives with me currently,”

“Aren’t you a bit young to have mated already?”

“Shadow and I aren’t mates, we have a symbiosis,”

“Oh! Forgive me, I didn’t mean to be rude,” Amber apologized, “Are you a red aura Shadow?”

“Yes,”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Amber replied. “Sorry I am too weak currently to have been able to read your aura color on my own.”

“Think nothing of it,” Shadow insisted.

“Manik had mentioned each of you leads a sector and that we would be able to go one of the four to live if we wanted,”

“That’s correct,” Sonic answered.

“Is Mirage’s sector Christmas Island?”

“No, it is an area close to the mainland of another Island near us,” Mirage answered.

“This may be asking a lot, but would it be alright if I moved my family back to the Island? I would love to be able to come back home and I would be honored to help you make inhibitor rings,”

“How could I refuse such a request?” Mirage replied, “Is it alright with you, Shadow?”

“Me?”

“You just accepted the leadership of Sector Two, Shadow,” Sonic commented, “You have to approve Amber’s request too.”

“Of course,” Shadow didn’t hesitate, “The Island is just as much your home now as it ever was, and Mirage will need all the help she can get.”

“Oh, thank you,” Amber said graciously, “I couldn’t begin to explain how much this means to me.”

“You are twice a survivor Amber, you more than deserve to come home,” Mirage replied.


	15. Surprise Appreciation Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Mirage's birthday and her family wants to celebrate, however, Mirage isn't fond of birthday parties. It's up to Shadow to lure her to a surprise party at Sage's request. A little appreciation goes a long way.

All the leaders of the Array worked together for several days helping the rescued Christmonians relocate to their respective sectors. Nearly all them had been moved to their new home, with only a few remaining that was moving into sector 4. As the leaders worked at various tasks individually, Sage called Shadow over to talk to her in the house.

“What do you want Sage?” Shadow asked, slightly suspicious of Sage’s actions.

“Please Shadow, I need a huge favor,” Sage replied, putting her hands together to insinuate begging. Shadow became confused, taken off guard by the sudden request,

“What kind of favor?”

“This weekend, I need you to convince Mirage to come over at about two o’clock,”

“Why?”

“It’s her birthday and we want to surprise her,”

“Are you serious?” Shadow asked coldly, thinking a surprise birthday party seemed childish for a woman like Mirage.

“I know it seems silly, but if we ask to throw her a party, she’ll just say no. We really want to thank her for all the hard work she’s done this year, so think of it more as a surprise appreciation day,”

“This seems like something that would upset her,”

“Well, I guess you know her pretty well to have been around only less than a year,” Sage commented, “yeah, we know she’s not going to be too thrilled at first, but she’ll get over it. Please, Shadow!”

Shadow sighed in aggravation, but decided to relent to Sage’s request considering the intention, “Fine.”

“Thank you so much Shadow, this means a lot to all of us,”

 

With Amber’s help, Mirage spent the week searching for more Christonite to make inhibitor rings. Like Mirage, Amber was a pure-blood with dual abilities; divination and psychometry. Amber’s divination ability allowed her to locate hidden or lost objects with ease, while her psychometry allowed her to touch objects and see small visions of memories that have been imprinted on the object by its owner. She admitted to Mirage that she was able to see a vision of Arin opening his workshop safe by touching the combination dial, which is how she managed to open it all those years ago.

Finding Christonite was much faster with Amber’s divination ability, and the two manage to find more than enough of the elusive crystal to make inhibitor rings for the two dozen new members. Amber was also more than willing to learn how to make inhibitor rings from Mirage, and luckily Mirage had a spare pair of gloves needed to hold the Christonite safely that fit Amber. There was also still a multitude of tools left over from when Mirage’s Uncle Charles was alive and worked on making inhibitor rings and teaching Mirage.

Mirage was more than grateful to have Amber’s help with inhibitor rings and Shadow’s help with Array duties. She was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, no longer feeling overwhelmed with her responsibilities. Amber was still working on getting her family moved to Christmas Island, therefore was not able to visit Mirage today. It was understandable, besides Amber had already helped tremendously by finding a supply of Christonite that Mirage could start to work with.

Mirage’s workshop was a small building located behind her house where she stored Christonite, gold, and larger equipment used to make inhibitor rings. She already began to sort through the Christonite by size to make it easier for her once the new members began visiting for their fittings. Mirage continued organizing her materials when Shadow entered the workshop.

“Mirage, Sage needs us to come over,”

“Why?” Mirage returned.

“She only said she needed help,”

“You didn’t ask her for specifics?” Mirage replied, puzzled, “That’s not like you.”

“Why does it matter? We have two dozen new members, I’m not surprised she needs help,”

“Does this have something to do with my birthday?” Mirage accused.

“Is it your birthday?” Shadow asked, pulling off a questioning tone and expression as if he didn’t know.

“Umm…no,” Mirage hesitated.

“I’m not convinced,”

“Okay, fine,” Mirage admitted defeat, “It’s my birthday, just please don’t make a big deal about it.”

“The only experience I have with the subject is the one party we had for Maria’s birthday on the Ark,” Shadow replied, “I can’t say I know what to do in this situation. Is there something wrong with your birthday?”

“I just don’t like everyone making such a fuss about it,” Mirage explained, “It’s just another day.”

Shadow glanced up at the wall clock on the other side of the workshop, it was almost two o’ clock,

“Regardless, Sage has asked for help.”

“Alright,” Mirage conceded, putting the Christonite away and trading her work gloves for her regular pair. “Let’s go.”

Mirage reached her hand out to Shadow, which he accepted knowing Mirage would teleport them to sector 4. The two arrived at Sage’s door and Mirage took notice of how unusually quiet it was.

“What’s wrong?” Shadow asked, noticing that Mirage had hesitated to knock on the door.

“Sage is here, isn’t she?”

“I assume so,” Shadow managed to once again convince Mirage he was innocent. She knocked on the door without another thought. There was a short pause before Sage answered the noise with a sweet ‘come in.’

Mirage opened the door to find a darkened room, in a second she knew what was about to happen, but powerless to stop it as the room quickly filled with light.

“Surprise! Happy Birthday Mirage!” everyone in attendance yell, excluding Shadow. Sage, Manik, Sonic, and Amy were all in attendance at the surprise party. Sage rushed to hug Mirage, knowing it would calm her fury. Mirage sighed as she returned her well-meaning cousin’s embrace. She glanced back angrily at Shadow for a moment, realizing he had to have been in on this from the beginning. Shadow suddenly felt the sharp sting of guilt, as Mirage had never looked at him that way before.

“You guys know…” Mirage began.

“Yeah, yeah, you hate us making a big deal over your birthday, but we’re going to anyway,” Sonic replied.

“We appreciate all the hard work you do for us and The Array, Mirage,” Sage added.

“Yeah, you really killed it this year little cousin,” Manik complimented. Mirage blushed, having not given her accomplishments much thought as of yet. “It’s not like I did anything you guys wouldn’t have.”

“But you really stepped up to the plate this year sweetie, we’re proud of you for that,” Sage continued.

“You can appreciate us on our birthdays, but I’ll accept cake year around,” Manik joked. Mirage rolled her eyes as she shook her head, she never recalled meeting anyone with a bigger sweet tooth than Manik.

“Well, I’ve been meaning to ask you, what did Vivian decide to do?” Mirage decided she wanted to change the subject.

“Business first as usual,” Manik scoffed, “She hasn’t officially given me her answer yet, but I strongly suspect she is leaning towards yes. I think she’s just very anxious about the idea of leading.”

“Shadow can relate,” Mirage replied. Shadow glared at her, knowing the comment was in part retaliation for deceiving her.

“Speaking of, Sage has made a nomination for the leadership of Sector 4,” Sonic stated.

“Really? Who did you nominate Sage?”

“Blade,”

“Blade…. Oh, I remember him now, the flash precognitive with a scarlet aura,”

“Yes, that’s right,”

“He should be really helpful overall,” Mirage commented, “How sophisticated is his perception?”

“He can sense the level of intensity of impending danger and location or persons affected, but only an approximate time,”

“He knows it’s soon, just not how soon?” Mirage asked.

“Exactly,”

“That’s still impressive, sign him up,”

“What’s a flash precognitive?” Amy asked.

“A psychic that can sense danger before it happens, but unlike you Amy, they don’t have visions. A flash precognitive only gets a feeling which quickly passes, which is why it’s called flash precognition,” Sonic answered. “Mirage is rightfully impressed; flash precognitive abilities can be very difficult to master. The fact that he can accurately read his premonitions to that degree when they only last mere moments is a testament to his skill.”

“We can talk business later, I made a meal that’s waiting in the kitchen,” Sage redirected the conversation, “I know you really don’t like the idea of a birthday party Mirage, so I made a dinner and a cheesecake for dessert.”

“I appreciate it, Sage,”

“I owed you for that surveillance work you did for me a few months ago sis, I have that ready for you with a little extra thrown as a gift,” Sonic added.

“Oh, I had forgotten about that,” Mirage admitted, “Good timing, I think I’m about out of honey.”

“You owe her?” Amy asked.

“Mirage can’t always get her hands on fresh ingredients on Christmas Island, so I tend to pick her up some while I travel to help her out,”

“Sonic usually insists on compensating me when I have to take missions I wouldn’t normally. I would never ask him for money, so this is our way of meeting each other in the middle,”

The group was eventually ushered to the kitchen by Sage to eat the meal she had prepared. They all stayed for a while and talked about various topics before departing for their own homes. After everyone had said their goodbyes, Mirage and Shadow teleported home. He had been mostly quiet while they were visiting Sage, but now that they were alone Shadow’s behavior took a sudden and unexpected shift. Before Mirage could move to reach for her boots to remove them, Shadow grabbed her wrist firmly,

“Are you upset with me?” he asked, the anxiety in his voice was apparent despite his attempts to hide it. Mirage smiled, realizing she had become special to him to some degree.

“No,” Mirage answered sweetly, “not at all.”

“I’m sorry,” Shadow apologized sincerely, letting go of Mirage’s wrist.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Mirage insisted, “I understand the intention and I’m grateful. I might not have allowed a party if they had asked me, but I’m glad it happened. It’s been a while since all of us were together like that. Thank you.”

Back at Sage’s house, she continued cleaning up what was left of the mess from the party. Everyone had helped her clean the bulk of the kitchen before they left. Sage had insisted that she was able to take care of the rest on her own. Her family went along with her request, knowing that Sage was particular about how things are cleaned and put away.

As Sage put the last of the dishes away, there came a knock on her door. She walked into the living room and opened the door to find Blade.

“Sorry to come unannounced Sage,” Blade began, “but I think something bad is going to happen to at least one of your family members.”

“Which one?”

“Unfortunately, where I am not close to them yet, I can only get a vague feeling. The closer I am with someone or the more familiar I am with a location the more proficiently I can read my premonitions,” Blade explained, “because I’m close to you, I can tell it’s at least one of them, because something bad happening to a family member is indirectly something bad happening to you.”

“Well, how bad is it going to be?” Sage asked with a worried tone.

“I’m not certain, but I think that maybe one or more of them is going to be revealed as Chritmonian,”


	16. Heart to Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy voices a concern to Sonic and the conversation brings up a situation from his past.

Amy asked to meet up with Sonic at the secret building he had brought her to when she was sick to talk with him. It was much safer to discuss The Array and Christmonians there than anywhere else closer to home. She was somewhat nervous, not that knowing Sonic’s true personality was the cause, but rather an uncertainty of how the conversation would play out.

“What’s on your mind, Amy?” Sonic asked kindly, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms.

“Sonic, I’m curious, why haven’t you told the others about being a Christmonian?”

“Why would you ask me that?” Sonic’s tone wasn’t angry but instead implied that he expected Amy to know the answer. The expression on his face was rather serious.

“I honestly don’t think they will hate you for being Christmonian,”

“Neither do I,” Sonic admitted, “but their knowledge will put them in great danger. You have seen what happens to us, Amy. Do you seriously think that someone willing to kidnap, torture and kill Christmonians aren’t willing to do the same to people who would dare befriend them?”

“They deserve to know,” Amy protested, “It’s not like someone won’t just ask them how they could possibly _not_ know.”

“Well, I suppose that’s true,” Sonic replied, standing upright again, “better to die knowing the reason.”

“Sonic!”

“I’m sorry Amy, I’ve lost more than enough people I care about,”

“You’re really okay with lying to your friends about who you are?”

Sonic sighed, “I can’t even argue with you on that one.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Listen, Amy, it’s really not that I don’t want to tell them, but this isn’t easy for me to talk about,”

“It’s hard being a hero and expecting people not to be curious about your origins,”

“And once they know the answer, many of them will label me a villain,” Sonic replied, his patience was starting to wear thin.

“Those people don’t matter as much as your friends,”

“You’ve known you’re a Christmonian for only a few months, you have not had to experience what most of us have had to endure. You saw all those people Mirage and Shadow recused, the condition they were in. You still think the worse that will happen is name calling or dirty looks?”

“One guy like that doesn’t represent everyone,”

Sonic sighed, “Why do you keep reminding me so much of my mother?”

“Maybe she believed in people too,”

“She was optimistic, always seeing the bright side of things. My father was always so serious and blunt, they were opposite personalities but they needed each other. Dad needed someone to show him the bright side once in a while and Mom needed someone to make her look at things more realistically.”

“You sound like you’re describing Shadow and Mirage more than you are describing us,” Amy commented.

Sonic laughed lightly, “Oh no, I am defiantly describing us more. Mirage is more like our father than I am, especially when she’s on missions. She and Shadow are practically two of a kind, even if their auras would have you think they are opposites.”

“Mirage seems so nice, I hardly understand why people are afraid of her,”

“Mirage is nice to Christmonians. She doesn’t have anything against non-christmonians or anything, but she tends to be cautious of them. Mirage would help anyone who needed it, but she would also hurt someone if she had to; even another Christmonian,”

“I asked her once if she ever hurt anyone innocent and she said one. She seemed so remorseful about it too,”

“Yeah, I know, I don’t ever think she’ll get over that no matter how many times I tell her that I forgive her,”

“What do you mean?”

“She was talking about me, Amy,” Sonic admitted, “though I don’t really consider myself _innocent_. I guess in the context of that particular situation, I was.”

“Wait, what happened?” Amy asked confused.

“You remember when you were sick and I saw the glean of your aura in your eye; how insistent I was about that you were having a hysteria fit?”

“yes,”

“That’s because when Mirage turned 12, her aura also flared up and caused her to go into hysteria. Mirage’s aura was so hard for her to control after that, it happened a lot before she learned to bleed her aura. Hysteria fits also get worse each time you have one and becomes harder to snap someone out of the episode. When our Uncle died, it flared so intensely in reaction to her emotions that she completely lost herself. I was trying to comfort her because she was crying, that’s when she went to the fit and she attacked me with some wire she had from fixing the traps on the island with me that day.”

Sonic reached up and removed his bandana, revealing a scar on his neck. Amy jumped at the sight of it, having never known the cloth was used to hide a scar like that from view.

“If I hadn’t instinctually reacted by slowing down time, she might have killed me,” Sonic continued, “but I won’t ever hold that against her, no one can control themselves during Hysteria. I got her to snap out of it and she just absolutely broke down and started apologizing over and over. She was shaking so bad from the shock that we almost thought she was having a seizure. I don’t ever what to see that happen to her again.”

“Then why did you leave her all alone?”

“She made us,” Sonic replied, the sadness could be heard in his voice, “She was afraid to hurt any of us, so she made us leave and get far away from Christmas Island. That’s one of the reasons why we never put very many people in her sector and gave her several jobs to do in order to help drain her aura. Even if she did go into Hysteria, there would be no one there to hurt.”

“Then why let Shadow go there and stay with her or Amber and Mercer?”

“I didn’t intend for Shadow to move in with her when I put them in the same place at the same time so that they would meet,” Sonic explained, “I only intended for them to form a symbiosis, but regardless, I’m glad he’s staying with her.”

“What do you mean? Why?”

“When I found out that Shadow was an ergokenetic, I knew he would be able to curb her aura to a level she could control on a regular basis. The first time I saw him teleport, I knew he was absorbing the aura that Mirage was bleeding; symbiosis was guaranteed if I could get them to meet each other. I knew…” Sonic looked up from his feet to meet Amy’s eyes, “…I knew he could save her and he did. She should be fine to be around others more often now. I have even noticed that she has started coming around much more than she used to.”

“You never really needed Mirage to watch Eggman, did you?”

“No,” Sonic admitted proudly, “I just needed her to be somewhere Shadow could find her until the symbiosis took hold and they started getting to know each other.”

“You manipulated them!”

“Only a little, but I did it because I cared about them both. I had never seen a perfect aura and ability match like that before, not even on Christmas Island. It was like they were made for each other. On the island, most people who formed a symbiosis either complimented the others aura or ability, but almost never both. The old-timers called it a Perfect Symbiosis if both were complimentary.”

Amy nodded her head in agreement, “You’re right, as odd of a couple as they seem at first glance, they really are perfect for each other.”

“You talk like they’re a romantic couple, do you know something I don’t?”

“Most likely not,” Amy admitted, “I don’t think their relationship is romantic, yet.”

“Yet?” Sonic questioned, “They both seem too reluctant for that. Did you have a vision?”

“No, but it might happen, I have an intuition about these sorts of things” Amy responded, “Would you object if it did?”

“No,” Sonic answered sincerely, crossing his arms again, “Honestly, Shadow is probably the only man on Mobius who could possibly have a shot at all. If he continues to take care of her like he has been, I couldn’t bring myself to stand in their way.”

“A few months ago, I didn’t even know you had a family, and now I can see how much you love them,” Amy stated, “You don’t give yourself enough credit, you are such a good man. Hero or not, you are the best kind of array leader…the family kind of array.”

“Well, at least I got the best part of my Old Man,” Sonic replied, smiling as he returned his bandana to his neck.

“Will you please at least think about telling our friends? I hate having to lie to them,”

“Alright, fine,” Sonic yielded, “I will consider it.”

“Thank you,”

“Say, Amy, now that Shadow has accepted a leadership position, do you this he is more likely to stick around?”

“I was never under the impression he would leave at all. Why?”

“I was a little worried that he might get cold feet at some point and bail out on all this, but I think his perception has been drastically changed recently,”

“After seeing those people, he and Mirage recused and the kids, I’m not surprised,”

“I think he might be in for the long haul now, so I’m going to give Amber a call for a small favor,”

“Call Amber for what kind of favor?”

“I have another one of my Grandfather’s safes that needs to be opened,”


	17. Credence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow comes to terms with his feelings for Mirage and with a gift from Sonic, also comes to terms with his creation.

Several days later, Amber got the chance to grant Sonic the favor of opening his grandfather’s personal safe. Sonic escorted Amber back to Christmas Island since he now needed to go see Shadow and Mirage anyway. The gentleman he was, Sonic seen to it that Amber was home safely before venturing to his sister’s home.

Meanwhile, Shadow could tell that something was different about the way he felt towards Mirage. He thought nothing of it when the feelings were similar to the way he used to feel about Maria; friendship. However, those feeling were developed into something more than friendship. Shadow was finally beginning to come to terms with the idea that he might be in love with Mirage. The realization concerned him slightly, making Shadow wonder if he needed to put some space between them for a short while. He obviously couldn’t cut ties with Mirage completely as their symbiosis was strong and the two depended on each other greatly. In addition to their personal relationship, Shadow had accepted a leadership position alongside of Mirage, so he couldn’t escape her; not that he really wanted to anyway.

Shadow knew before he first tried getting to know Mirage that the reality was he would outlive her. He knew that her inevitable death would be as hard on him as Maria’s, maybe more. This decision was hard for Shadow, he honestly didn’t want to leave Mirage and he was finally beginning to feel at home. Shadow’s concentration was broken by the sound of knocking at the door. He answered it, finding Sonic on the other side holding a box.

“If you are looking for Mirage, she is in the workshop making Inhibitor rings,” Shadow commented for Sonic even had the chance to say hello.

“Actually, I’m here to see both of you,” Sonic replied stepping into the house, “it’s nothing that requires a formal meeting or anything.”

“Is that so?” Shadow was a little frustrated with Sonic’s unannounced arrival.

“I have something for each of you,” Sonic continued, sitting his box down on the end table nearby. He reached into the box and retrieved an old book with a leather cover and handed it to Shadow, “This is yours.”

Shadow looked at Sonic with confusion, but took the item anyway, “A book?”

“A journal to be specific,”

Shadow looked more carefully at the book, he found it strange that Sonic would give him some old book without reason. He decided to humor Sonic and opened the front cover to find that someone had written in this journal. Shadow’s eyes widened in shock when he read the words on the first page ‘Project Shadow’.

“Where did you get this?!”

“I remembered my grandfather mentioning it to my mom,” Sonic answered, “His personal safe survived that fire and I was hopeful it was inside. Sorry, it took me so long to manage getting the damn thing open.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”

“I just told you, I wasn’t 100% sure that it was inside,” Sonic replied, “Luckily I knew my grandfather well enough to lift the bottom inside, that clever old man had it hidden.”

Shadow calmed down, looking at the book in disbelief for a moment before looking back up to Sonic,

“Thank you,” Shadow said sincerely.

“No problem,” Sonic returned, “and don’t worry, I didn’t read anything. It’s not any of my business what it says.”

Shadow turned his attention to the box, it wasn’t large by any means, but certainly not necessary to carry a journal. He remembered that Sonic said that he also had something for Mirage.

“What do you have for Mirage that you needed a box?”

“Wouldn’t you know it; the old man had more gold in his personal safe. I guess I can really blame him for being cautious,”

“How do you know it wasn’t meant to be used for money?”

“I guess we could technically use it for money if we wanted to, but on Christmas Island people just traded goods or services with one another. We made gold into disks to make it easier to make inhibitor rings,” Sonic reached into the box and pulled out a gold disk, “See. This batch seems to be a higher quality of gold. No doubt that this batch was likely used to make rings for more powerful Christmonians. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made your rings from this batch. I know he made mine and Mirage’s with them, it’s the only way small rings can help strong auras like ours.”

“I thought your abilities awakened on the night of the massacre,” Shadow questioned.

“They did, but Christmonians don’t always get their glow and their ability at the same time,” Sonic explained, “I had my glow for a year before I figured out that I have a chronokinesis. I’m guessing Mirage told you about that night, huh?”

“More like she showed me,”

“That makes sense, it’s probably easier for her to do it that way,”

“If you had an inhibitor ring on, then how did you glow?”

“What?!” Sonic looked as if he had seen a ghost, “Did I glow?”

“That’s what Mirage showed me,”

“Oh man, no wonder my uncle yelled at me that I could have killed her,” Sonic’s voice was laced with sadness. He knew the only memories that Mirage can see are ones connected to fear. It was understandable that his cousins where feeling fear in that moment anyway, but this detail was never revealed to him, “I didn’t know that I went into hysteria.”

“It was over ten years ago,” Shadow replied sympathetically, “No use dwelling on it now.”

“I need to talk to Mirage for a little bit,” Sonic put the gold disk back into the box and picked it up, heading out to the workshop.

Shadow turned his attention back to the journal in his hands. He sat down on the couch and just stared at the writing on the first page again. He was almost afraid to continue on into the following pages. This journal could answer the questions Shadow still had about his creation, but it might not necessarily have the answers he wants. He quickly gathered the courage to flip the page.

_Project Shadow is my last hope to develop a cure for the deadly disease my darling granddaughter Maria has contracted. Nero-immune Deficiently Syndrome also known as NIDS, as its name suggests, attacks the neurological and immune systems. The disease has already eradicated her immune system, making it nearly impossible for her to fight other illnesses. I must keep her in a sterile environment to protect her from sickness._

_The people of Christmas Island have always fascinated me with their psychic abilities. They are also very resilient biologically speaking, especially the pure bloods. I have befriended one of the leaders of the Island, an ergokenitic named Arin. He is a rather straight-forward fellow and exceptionally passionate about his people. Arin is young by human standards, only 18 years of age, but he certainly has the maturity of an older gentleman. He is gifted even by Christmonian measurement, possessing an unusual reserve of aura. Aura being the mental and physical energy of all living beings, this energy is prominent in Christmonians as a whole. However, Arin’s aura is beyond even the average Christmonian. He has graciously agreed to provide his DNA to me for Project Shadow._

_I am morally opposed to creating weapons, but there was no other way to procure funding for my project. I have no intentions of Project Shadow being a weapon, however. Quite the opposite, I intend on creating a lifeform immune to disease in which to aid in engineering a cure for NIDS. Maria has very little time left before the disease shuts down her neurological system. I know that once I am discovered to have created life instead of a weapon, I will likely be greatly reprimanded. Hopefully, by the time I am exposed, Maria is cured and Shadow will be on Christmas Island with Arin and his family._

Shadow breathed a sigh of relief, he was never meant to be a weapon. He also felt sad that Dr. Gerald knew the risk he was taking with this decision.

Meanwhile, Sonic approached Mirage in the workshop where she was still working on inhibitor rings for the two dozen Christmonians she and Shadow had rescued a few months ago. Sonic walked in and sat the box he was carrying down on Mirage’s work table.

“Need a batch of gold?”

“Sonic, where did you get that?”

“Gramps’ safe,”

“You got it open?”

“Amber got it open,” Sonic explained.

“Oh, I see,” Mirage smiled and went back to work on an inhibitor ring.

“Mirage?”

“Humm?”

“On the night of the massacre, did I go into hysteria while I was holding you?”

Mirage stopped cold in her tracks and glanced up at Sonic with a surprised look on her face.

“I did, didn’t I?” Sonic continued.

“You weren’t trying to hurt me,” Mirage argued.

“I could have killed you!”

“You didn’t even know what your powers were,”

“It doesn’t matter!”

“Yes, it does,” Mirage raised her voice, “You weren’t trying to hurt me, you were trying to save me.”

“I don’t want to hear another word about your hysteria fit,” Sonic demanded, “What I did was no worse than what you did.”

“It’s different!” Mirage yelled, “You weren’t the one who blew the window out and made me bleed in the first place. You just learned mom and dad were gone and didn’t want to lose me too.”

Sonic took a deep breath and calmed down, approaching Mirage, he hugged her tightly,

“I could have killed you Mirage.”

Mirage hugged him back, tears were forming in her eyes and she was desperately trying to hold them back.

“If you keep saying sorry to me, then I will keep saying sorry to you,” Sonic continued, “So we either forgive each other and move on or keep apologizing to each other. What’s it going to be?”

Mirage sighed, defeated, “Alright, fine. I forgive you.”

“I forgive you too,”

 

Later, Mirage came back into the house, having finished the last of the inhibitor rings for the new members of the Array. It was later than she normally turned in, but she had pushed herself to finish that last ring before she went to bed. Since she hadn’t been very active through the day and still had too much aura to be able to sleep soundly and so she looked for Shadow.

“Shadow?” she called, walking through the house. Shadow had gone to his room and finished reading the journal while Mirage was in the workshop. He had even read back over certain sections of the journal to be sure of what they were saying. When he heard Mirage calling him, he put the journal in the drawer of the nightstand by his bed. He opened the door of his room and stepped out,

“Yes?”

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

“No, I was just reading,” Shadow replied, “Did you need something?”

“Can you drain some of my aura so I can go to sleep, please?”

“You spent all day in the workshop, didn’t you?”

“I got them all done at least,”

Shadow smiled softly, it was a sight that was uncommon, but one that no longer surprised Mirage to see. He lifted his hand to her shoulder and took a small portion of Mirage’s aura so that she would feel tired. Mirage lifted her hand and rubbed her eye, yawning quietly, “Thank you.”

Shadow lifted his hand to caress Mirage’s cheek, this action surprised Mirage, Shadow was not usually like this.

“Get some rest, you deserve it,” Shadow said sweetly.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Shadow insisted, turning back towards his room, “Sleep in tomorrow if you want to, I’ll wake you if anything comes up.”

Mirage had stayed up later than usual so sleeping in sounded enticing,

“Okay,” Mirage agreed and then she also headed to her room for the night, “Thanks again.”

“It’s nothing,” Shadow replied, “Good night, Mirage.”

“Good night,”

Once Mirage had shut the door of her bedroom behind her, she stopped for a moment. She reached her hand up to the same cheek that Shadow had briefly caressed and gently touched it with her fingertips. She smiled as her face flushed pink, “I can’t believe he did that.”


	18. Confessions: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic confesses he is Christmonian to his friends and someone has an issue with that.

It was an unusually calm day for Sonic and his crew, as Eggman had not caused any trouble recently. They were enjoying the day to themselves and preparing lunch in the kitchen. Sonic began to contemplate telling his friends that he is a Chrsitmonian. Amy had been continuously nudging him ever since she first talked to him about it a few months earlier. He really wanted to tell them and finally get it off his chest, but the anxiety of negative feelings constantly kept Sonic from speaking up. He had admitted to Amy that he really didn’t believe that their friends would hate him for being a Christmonian, and he still thought that to be true. The real fear came from the idea that they would be upset about him lying to them.

Sonic remembered how Amy first reacted to his _real_ personality. Sonic didn’t really feel like the persona he displayed was as much a façade as his family claimed. Yes, he is very serious about his leadership position, both for The Array and his own array, however his easy-going and sarcastic nature was not falsified. If anything, the only thing he exaggerated was his intelligence, to some degree and his ‘self-absorbed, teenage attitude,’ as Shadow would put it. His reasons for exaggerating these aspects are because he wants non-christmonians to see him as non-threating. Fearful that if normal people knew to what level Sonic was truly intelligent, cunning or organized that it would be reason for them to not trust him.

‘Perhaps, I have already dug my own grave,’ Sonic thought to himself, ‘If I am ever exposed for who I truly am, it will be reasonable cause to distrust me. Amy is right, it is best that they hear it from me, if I hope to keep their friendship.’ Sonic liked the feeling of being a leader without as much pressure as The Array puts on him. Not that he regretted for a moment founding the organization or helping other Christmonians, but he also enjoyed being able to relax occasionally. This was in part, the reason he insisted that the others nominate co-leaders and also why he would always push Mirage to take a break once in a while.  

Sonic kept trying to coach himself in his own mind to open his mouth and begin the conversation. Yet, no matter how hard he would think, the action never followed and his mouth remained closed. Across the table, Amy could see the wheels turning in Sonic’s head; the inner battle he was having to force himself to say something aloud. Finally, Sonic’s mind won the battle and the first words escaped his mouth,

“Hey guy, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Sonic, which made him instantly nervous, but there was no going back now. He paused for a brief moment before he could continue, “I want you guys to know I’m…”

_Crash!_

The abruptness of a braking glass interrupted Sonic.

“What was that?” Tails asked, looking for the object that shattered the back window. Nearby, a rock was found on the floor.

“Sonic the Hedgehog is a charlatan!” a mysterious male voice called from behind the house. The group went through the back door finding a Weasel that looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties.

“Who are you?” Knuckles asked.

“My name is Larson, I’m not interested in talking to the rest of you, I’m only interested in Sonic,”

“Umm, excuse me, you threw a rock through my window,” Tails chastised.

“Yeah, well it’s nothing compared to losing some of your fingers!”

“Are you threatening me?!” Tails exclaimed.

“Well, that’s what Sonic had his enforcers do to my younger brother!”

Sonic suddenly realized who this person was, regardless of not having met him. He wondered if this man was symphonic to what his brother was doing or if he even knew about in the first place.

“Enforcers?” Knuckles questioned.

“You don’t have an array, do you Sonic?” Tails asked, genuinely curious as Sonic had never mentioned family before.

“Yes, I have an array Tails,” Sonic answered honestly.

“What’s an enforcer?” Knuckles asked.

“They are like bodyguards for their families, in hedgehog families the head of the family appoints them,” Tails answered.

“I didn’t really have to appoint them, they just naturally took it up on their own. They are both just the overprotective type,”

“You aren’t denying anything?!” Larson exclaimed, confused.

“What would I need to deny?” Sonic returned.

“YOU’RE A CHRISTMONIAN!”

“So?”

“I’ll tell everyone! Starting with your friends!”

Sonic glanced to his friends, they returned confused stares, “I was trying to tell you guys earlier, I’m sorry I wasn’t more forward about it, I didn’t think it really mattered. Amy insistent that I be more open about it. Do any of you care that I’m a Christmonian?”

“Why would we care?” Tails replied, “That’s awesome!”

“What’s a Christmonian?” Knuckles asked.

“People with psychic powers,” Sticks answered.

“Oh, cool! You have psychic powers, Sonic?”

“I have chronokensis,”

“So that’s how you run fast!” Tails realized, “you’re manipulating time!”

“Time isn’t the only thing this bastard is manipulating! His enforcers are hurting people and he’s playing hero! Sonic is no hero, he’s a mob boss!”

“WOAH, you’re getting carried away,” Sonic defended, “I help a lot of other Christmonians, but I have no idea where you're getting the idea I’m some sort of gangster,”

“You sent your enforcers after my brother and they cut off two of his fingers! What did my brother do to you?!”

“What did he do to me? Not a thing,” Sonic admitted, “What he did was kidnap two little Christmonian girls and try to pawn their inhibitor rings while he left them chained inside a metal box with 24 other Christmonians he kidnapped and left to die!”

Larson looked shocked, unable to give Sonic a response. “I didn’t send my enforcers after your brother, I sent them to find those girls. They just happened to catch your brother red-handed. So, if you’re prepared to defend your brother’s actions, then I’m prepared to defend my _sister’s_ ,”

“You’re lying!”

“I send them to find two people and they come back with twenty-six, don’t you dare call me a liar! Most of them were children, what the hell did they do to him?” Sonic returned Larson’s own question to him.

“I saw them all myself!” Amy backed Sonic up, “they were all so weak and hungry. They had bruises on their wrists from the chains, the glow of their auras was so dull, it was a wonder how many of them managed to stay conscious.”

“This isn’t right, someone is lying to me,” Larson admitted. The story his brother told was not matching what Sonic and Amy were claiming. He wanted to believe his brother’s version of events, but there was a voice in the back of his head that was skeptical. How would Sonic even know his brother to send his enforcers after him in the first place?

“The look on your face tells me there is a hint of doubt in you. Do you have reason to believe your brother is capable of such acts? If not, then there would be no reason for you to hesitate,” Sonic spoke in a serious tone. He was no longer trying to hide his real personality. Even his friends were surprised by the sudden shift in his demeanor, except for Amy who is very used it by now.

“I…if I find out you’re the one lying to me, I’m going to tell everyone you’re a Christmonian and what you’re really like,” Larson replied.

“You want to tell everyone I’m a Christmonian? Go ahead, I already have the only options that I care about. What I’m really like? You have no idea what I’m really like, so don’t pretend like you do,”

“This won’t be the last time you see me Sonic the Hedgehog, count on it!” Larson left, having his aggressive intentions halted by the idea his brother may have kidnapped children. He had reacted emotionally and honestly without a plan when he arrived to confront Sonic. However, the spat made him question his brother’s story. It was vague, it made little sense once he thought about it. How did his brother know they were Sonic’s enforcers? It didn’t seem likely that they would tell him that. If it was a secret that Sonic was their leader, they wouldn’t mention it to him, even if they thought no one would believe him. It was too risky to even begin such a controversy with a figure like Sonic.

Larson searched for his brother for the next few days, it wasn’t unusual for him to be hard to find. He never really thought about before, but this started to seem suspicious. Finally, Larson found his brother at a large abandoned house in a secluded area. It raised a major red flag for Larson,

“Rex, what the hell are you doing?!” Larson asked, unintentionally sneaking up on his brother.

“Larson! You scared the living hell out of me!”

“I’m sorry, I was just worried about you. Should you be trying to fix up an old place with your hand like that?”

“I think it’s all the more reason to. I won’t let a couple of missing fingers detour me. That’s just what that little blue bitch would want,”

“I’m surprised, I never expected you would settle down until you were an old man,”

“I’m not interested in settling down, if I ever have to be sedentary just kill me,”

“Then what are you doing out here? Tell me the truth,”

“If you’re going to insist on making it your business then you might as well help me,”

“Help you do what?”

“I’ve made it my mission to rid this world of all those monsters. My last set up was small, but with this place, I can hold at least double the Christmonians I could in the box. Those damn enforcers ripped the door right of the hedges; a METAL door! People like that shouldn’t exist,”

“Speaking of, how did you know they were Sonic’s enforcers?” Larson asked, baiting Rex now that major alarm bells were going off.

“I sometimes follow Christmonians for days before I snatch them. I heard some talking about Sonic being a leader of The Array, which I later figured out was an organization that helps Christmonians find homes and gives them inhibitor rings to hide their glow. I had to get creative after learning that, I managed to meet a guy that was trying to make Christonite in a lab. It doesn’t absorb aura like the real thing, but it will glow with the color of their auras, even if they have an inhibitor ring on,”

“Rex, this is crazy, you can’t kidnap and kill people like this, Christmonian or not,”

“I’m the crazy one? Do you know how many people Mirage has removed a limb from?! If Sonic scolded her she wouldn’t do it, she only takes orders from him!”

“If you are killing people, it’s a miracle she didn’t do worse!”

“She only caught me with the truck, I have no doubt that maniac would have killed me if she caught me with the bodies,”

“Listen to yourself! You’re talking about murder like it’s nothing! I know a Christmonian killed Dad, but this is insane! You can’t kill all of them because of what _one_ man did, most of them are innocent,”

“There’s no such thing as an innocent Christmonian! They are all monsters, every last one of them!”

“I won’t have any part of this, you’ve lost your mind,”

“My own brother, a sympathizer, I can’t believe it!”

“This isn’t right Rex and you know it, you can’t kill Christmonians!”

Rex swiftly lunged at his brother, plugging a knife deep into Larson’s chest. He screamed in pain, clinging to his brother’s arm in an attempt to stay on his feet.

Rex looked directly into Larson’s eyes one last time with a wild gaze, “Yes, I can.”


	19. Confessions: Part 2

Mirage sat at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee while she read a book on psychology. It had been a few months since Sonic’s visit and she began to notice a shift in Shadow’s personality. Psychology was Mirage’s minor in school and she was both intrigued and somewhat unnerved by the sudden change. Shadow was usually slow to open up and even though she could tell he cared, he was normally rather reserved about showing affection.

When it came to giving words of support, encouragement or even advice, Shadow could perform those tasks with ease. He was more comfortable keeping a physical distance from others and showed affection in other ways. He pays attention to others likes, dislikes, and personality. Occasionally, he would even make small, thoughtful gestures to make her or others happy. A good example was the surprise party. Shadow knew Mirage would be upset about a party, even though she had never mentioned that fact to him previously. He also knew Sage was trying to be caring and had no intentions of upsetting Mirage, but rather show her appreciation, so he went along with the idea.

Rarely would Shadow hug or touch anyone. Mirage was a small exception, but only in private. If Mirage was extremely upset, usually to the point of crying, Shadow would hug and comfort her. However, this was not a regular occurrence by any means. But lately, it’s been different; something changed.

“Are you alright?” Shadow’s voice broke Mirage’s concentration on the book. He didn’t startle her, she already knew he was up. Mirage casually looked up at him and smiled softly.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she insisted, “I’m just doing some reading. Do you want some coffee?”

“Sure, I suppose,” Shadow sat across from Mirage, taking note that she was reading a psychology book as he prepared his coffee. “Have I made you feel uncomfortable?”

“What? No, of course not,”

“You’re reading a psychology book,”

“I like psychology,” Mirage defended, looking back up from her book again, “Are you worried about something? I have noticed a change in personality, but I just assumed it was because you were feeling comfortable here.”

Shadow’s eyes met Mirage’s and triggered a vision. Seeing through Shadow’s eyes, she found herself in an area filled with technology and a view of Mobius from the window. A young human girl in a blue dress pushes her and glass comes down from the ceiling, trapping Shadow. She goes to the control panel and pushes a button, then puts her hands on the lever. Men in military uniforms come in and demand she stop; she refuses and pulls the lever. One of the men fires a weapon, sending a bullet through the girl’s back and out her stomach. She collapses to the ground, bleeding heavily and reaching her hand out to Shadow with all the strength she can muster. The glass is stopping Shadow from reaching her. Suddenly the young girl changes features and becomes Mirage as her hand falls as the light leaves her eyes. She is left lifeless in a pool of blood as the escape pod ejects Shadow to Mobius.

Mirage has heard this story before, Shadow had told it to her. Mirage did not intend to invoke thoughts of Shadow’s fears by asking him if he was worried about something. However, all it takes to trigger her visions is for someone to think, even for a second of something they fear. Intentional or not, this vision was significant, it showed Mirage that Shadow fears to lose her like he did Maria.

“Damn it! You saw that, didn’t you?” Shadow asked, realizing he had inadvertently given Mirage a vision. He knew she couldn’t help it, unlike a precognitive such as Amy, Mirage cannot stop a vision once it’s been triggered.

“I’m so sorry,” Mirage apologized, “I didn’t mean to-”

“I know,” Shadow replied kindly, “it’s my own fault.”

“It doesn’t seem like anything to be embarrassed about,” Mirage replied smiling sweetly, “I feel honored that you care about me so much.”

“What did you see?” Shadow asked curiously.

“I saw… Maria’s death, but after she was shot, she… Turned into me,”

Shadow dropped his gaze, hoping to not cause her to see another vision. He was relieved, he expected the vision to be more literal and show Mirage a vision of herself rejecting him. However, he did fear to lose her more than he feared rejection, so perhaps that played a part.

“Well, I suppose that couldn’t be more accurate as far as my fears go,” Shadow admitted. “I need to tell you something.”

“Of course, you can tell me anything,” Mirage encouraged. Shadow pulled out a book he had been keeping hidden under the table and set it in front of Mirage. “What’s this?”

“When Sonic last visited and brought you your grandfather’s gold, he brought me this Journal that was also in his safe,” Shadow began, “It’s Gerald’s journal on Project Shadow.  I want you to read it and keep it safe somewhere.”

“Oh Shadow, that’s too personal,” Mirage protested, “I will certainly keep it safe for you, but reading it seems like none of my business.”

“But I need you to read it Mirage, just in case,” Shadow insisted, “I am not immune to Hysteria if something happens, I need someone to know how to stop me. You’re the only person I trust with what’s in this book.”

Mirage sighed, thinking about how at one time, she made Sonic promise something similar. After her major Hysteria fit that caused her to cut her brother’s throat, she made Sonic promise that if she was ever too far gone to kill her. Mirage glanced at Shadow with a worried expression, concerned that he was implying the same be done for him.

Shadow was a bit surprised by her expression and returned a confused look.

“Before you came, I was very worried about losing myself to Hysteria to the point where I couldn’t be saved. I made Sonic promise that if I ever got to that point, that he would stop me… Permanently,”

Shadow was taken aback, now it made sense why Sonic was desperate enough to trick them into meeting and potentially form a symbiosis. He wanted someone to save his sister because he knew he couldn’t save her himself.

“I can’t be killed, I’m immortal,” Shadow admitted, “but I can still be stopped. Please, Mirage?”

Mirage looked down at the journal with a saddened expression. She reached her hand out to the book but then hesitated to take it. She glanced up at Shadow who looked back at her silently pleading that she take it.

“Okay,” Mirage agreed, picking the journal up from the table.

“Please don’t wait to read it, I insist you know what it says,”

“Alright, I’ll read it today,” Mirage replied, “Will that satisfy you?”

“Yes, thank you,”

Later that day, Mirage was sitting in the living room reading the journal as she promised. She was halfway through the book, finding it to be fascinating. It read almost like a science fiction story, but it was real. The pages were filled with both emotion and knowledge, as it was apparent what kind of person Gerald was. Mirage knew he was friends with her grandfather, but also that he was Eggman’s grandfather. The two Robotniks seemed so much the opposite of one another by the journal entries it was almost absurd. Gerald very frequently wrote about his concerns for Shadow’s well-being even before the experiments yielded any results. Gerald wanted Shadow to be able to live a normal life, just like any other hedgehog. He had done extensive research on both Christmonians and regular hedgehogs, making sure he would be able to have any of his needs addressed in his creation. She turned the page and a new entry began.

_One of my biggest concerns has been weather Shadow will be able to take a mate. Hedgehogs are social creatures with a strong desire to be part of an array, including taking a mate. Shadow’s immortality was a hurdle I have put much thought into. Luckily, this concern will be remedied by the alien DNA I have introduced to Arin’s DNA. This particular race of aliens is all male and can mate with nearly any female creature in the galaxy and pass on their immortality. After some testing, I have no reason to believe the same would not be true in Shadow’s case. However, I have not been able to determine if procreation is possible. Never the less, I do not expect this to be of much issue as adopting is a normal part of Christmonian culture. Additionally, this process removes the genetic relationship to the female’s relatives as it has done Shadow’s to Arin. I am able to determine there is hedgehog DNA in Shadow’s genetic makeup, however no direct relation to the donor of that DNA. Most of my concern about Shadow’s ability to mate steamed from the fact that hedgehogs can become extremely depressed after their mate passes. Shadow may be immune to diseases and resistant to injury, but he is still susceptible to certain mental ailments such as depression, anxiety, and even Hysteria._

_Many Christmonians experience Hysteria, they are therefore well versed in dealing with such an occurrence. My dear friend Arin has warned me in the past that the condition can worsen with each fit that causes an overwhelming loss of control. Being immortal, Shadow cannot be killed easily, which is in rare cases the only course of action that can be taken. Should this happen to Shadow, the best course of action would be to put him into stasis for a prolonged period of time. This is normally not feasible with Christmonians, because they would not recuperate from their mental strain before they might pass away. Yet, with Shadow, being in stasis will pose no danger to him and provide plenty of time to rest his mind. A period of approximately 6 months to a year might be necessary for the worst-case scenario. There are many types of Christmonians with the ability to put others to sleep. This is even a basic ability for those who possess a turquoise aura. Shadow will be naturally drawn to these Christmonians, as he himself possesses a red aura which is complementary to turquoise._

“This is feasible with today’s technology,” Mirage commented on the stasis. She paused for a moment. This section also touched on Shadow’s ability to take a mate. She was somewhat excited that this was possible, as Mirage has fallen in love with Shadow. However, the idea of being immortal slightly concerned her. She tried not to think about it too hard, afraid that Shadow might not feel the same about her. She wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t, Mirage was still a little too young to mate. Shadow already saw her as a child when they first met, his opinion may not have changed drastically enough to look at her that way. He only remembers being with Humans, and by their standards, maturity comes at around 18 years of age. Hedgehogs are also physically mature close to that age, specifically between 15 and 18 as far as their growth. Females tend to begin seeking a mate around 17-20 and males around 18-25. The desire to date can begin as early as 12 for girls, but most boys tend to be uninterested until about 15. However, a 12-year-old Hedgehog is basically the equivalent of an 18-year-old human. This is when they are able to live independently from their parents and seek higher education. Most humans are expected to make it to their 80s with good health, yet few Hedgehogs are lucky to ever see their 70th birthday; Seeing a hedgehog over 70 is like seeing a human over 100.

Personally, Mirage was not interested in a romantic relationship until recently, whether it was due to not being around very many unrelated males, she couldn’t tell for certain. Falling in love with Shadow happened sometime after she turned 15, but the feelings had been mild up until just a few months ago. She had been trying desperately to maintain her composure around him, afraid that the slightest blush would give her away. Nothing gets by Shadow, just like the psychology book this morning or that she had a vision which showed her his fears.

Shadow had left earlier, telling Mirage he was going for a walk and would be back later. It was starting to get dark, so Shadow should be back soon. Mirage kept reading the journal, she promised she would read it and so she would. Hopefully, she would be finished by the time Shadow returned.

Shadow had gone back to another island, this one known as Prison Island. This was where he was kept in stasis for the last 50 years. What was once a military base, was now abandoned and being reclaimed by nature as the trees overtook the facility. He reflected on his life up until this point; the kind of person he has become.

Shadow wondered if this was what Gerald wanted. After reading his journal, Shadow realized that he was precious to Gerald from the beginning, his needs taken into account from before the first experiment ever took place. He wasn’t just a means to an end, he was loved.

Shadow had been so broken hearted, he shut himself off to everyone for a long time. He would never have imagined meeting someone like Mirage. He never before wanted to hold someone in his arms so badly but was at the same time afraid to do so. His feelings for her were beyond anything he felt before.

Shadow hadn’t lied when he asked Mirage to read the journal, and that was a huge decision to make in if itself. However, he had a double motive for her reading the journal; the section on mating. Shadow knew Mirage was probably still a little young to be concerned about a mate, but he was in no rush for that anyway. He wanted the seed planted in her head, because he did want a relationship with her, one that had the potential to lead to mating someday. The important thing was that Mirage needed to know if she agreed to mate, it meant she would become immortal and it was something she needed to be okay with.

As far as Shadow was concerned, the more time she took to consider the idea the better. Mating is for life, adding immortality to the mix significantly amplifies the weight of the choice. There was no guarantee Mirage even felt the same for him, but after long consideration, Shadow decided it was worth the risk. What would he regret more, telling her and being rejected or never telling her and therefore never knowing? Even if the chance was minuscule, it would be worth it if he might could have her. Shadow was confident that he could live millions of years and there would never be another woman like Mirage.

He came to this place to reflect, thinking about where he started, how far he’s come and what his future might hold. Shadow was honestly too nervous to stay in the house as Mirage read the journal and left for both their sakes. He didn’t want to make her nor himself feel anxious with every turn of a page. It was getting dark, and he would need to return home soon. Shadow was just as nervous to go home; no doubt Mirage would be waiting for him.

Shadow finally returned home, it was late and he secretly hoped Mirage had already gone to bed and they could talk in the morning. He hesitated to turn the knob, but eventually opened the door gently, in case Mirage was asleep. There she was, laying on the couch, the journal guarded by her arms as she slept. She had obviously waited for Shadow to come back home.

Shadow very quietly approached her, glancing down the hallway to her open bedroom door. Shadow had not once stepped foot in Mirage’s bedroom, but he didn’t want to leave her on the couch where she might be uncomfortable. He carefully picked Mirage up from the couch, holding her bridal-style in his arms. Shadow pauses for a moment, enjoying the chance to hold her like this. He began to ease his way down the hall, but before he could even make it out of the living room, Mirage stirred. Her big green eyes opened and quickly looked up at him; they looked tired, yet also filled with emotions.

“You were gone for a long time,” Mirage spoke, “I was almost afraid that you weren’t coming back.”

“I already told that I wouldn’t leave you,” Shadow replied, his voice was unusually soft and sweet.

“I said almost,”

Shadow smiled, realizing she was only teasing him, “Do you want me to put you down?”

Mirage glanced at the floor briefly and then looked back up to Shadow, “No, not really,” she replied, laying her head on his chest. The sudden, unexpected movement took Shadow’s breath temporarily. “Are you okay? Your heart is racing,” Mirage asked.

“Mirage, look at me,” Shadow’s voice became a little sterner. Mirage picked her head back up to look at Shadow, expecting to be scolded a little for her actions. She was completely surprised when Shadow kissed her on the lips. Shadow expected Mirage to pull away from him, but she didn’t. Not only did Mirage return his kiss, she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck and pulled herself closer to him.  

The two of them lost themselves in their embrace for a short while, but eventually broke away and looked lovingly to one another. “I love you, Mirage,” Shadow confessed.

“I love you too, Shadow,” 


	20. Persistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic introduces his friends to his array.

In the next few days, Sonic brought his friends to Sage’s orphanage to properly introduce them to his family and explain The Array to them. It honestly didn’t surprise them that Sonic would go these lengths to help people. Manik was excited to meet Sonic’s friends, having never given the introduction to The Array to non-christmonians before. The group saw many parallels to Sonic through his cousins; Manik’s upbeat and laid-back attitude and Sage’s caring demeanor stood out. They could really tell the three were family, especially since Sonic explained they grew up together more like siblings.

However, Sonic already admitted that he had a sister. The group was already beginning to question where she was,

“Is your sister coming Sonic?” Tails asked.

“She said she was,”

“You’ll have to cut Mirage a little slack Tails,” Manik added, “She has a long way to travel.”

“Mirage? The lady that wears the mask and cuts peoples’ limbs off? That Mirage?!” Sticks asked.

“The one and only,” Sonic replied.

“She’s coming here?!” Sticks seemed afraid.

“She’s sweeter than you would think,” the Hedgehogs all replied in unison.

“Mirage is a hard-core enforcer, but she’s incredibly caring,” Sage added.

“We are talking about a woman who was willing to risk completely exhausting her aura to get a group of people to Sage for medical attention,” Manik defended. 

“Sounds like someone who would be Sonic’s sister all right,” Tails replied.

“I appreciate it,” Mirage’s soft voice came from nowhere, surprising the group. Even more surprising to them was the fact she was accompanied by Shadow.

“What’s Shadow doing here?” Knuckles asked.

“He’s my other enforcer,” Sonic admitted.

“Are they together?” Sticks asked.

“They have a symbiosis,” Sage explained.

“Actually, we are together now,” Mirage admitted.

“Oh, how sweet,” Sage commented.

“Since when?” Sonic asked.

“A few days ago,” Mirage answered.

“Damn it, I lost the pool,” Sonic replied.

“Sonic the Hedgehog!” Amy yelled, “Do not lie to them like that! You know we did not make a betting pool on when they would get together!”

“We honestly thought about it though,” Manik admitted, “It was only a matter of time and we all knew it.”

“Wow, Shadow isn’t even upset,” Tails commented.

“I’ve been around this array for over a year, they don’t surprise me much anymore,” Shadow replied. The group was surprised by how calm Shadow was. They hadn’t seen him in a long time but were used to his aggressive nature.

“Mirage has a turquoise aura, it makes people around her feel calm,” Sonic explained.

“I’ve just grown accustomed to you all, it has little to do with Mirage’s aura,” Shadow argued.

“You’ve mellowed out a whole lot over the last year buddy, Mirage’s aura had a lot to do with it,”

“Shut up Manik,” Shadow snapped. Manik only smiled smugly in return. The group was amused by the Hedgehog family, they were so similar yet so different. Manik sounded like a surfer but seemed very smart. Sage came off like a timid lady with motherly instincts and the tone of voice to match. Mirage looked young, but her soft tone of voice was like that of a distinguished scholar. All of them were sarcastic and joked with a similar sense of humor as Sonic.

As several different conversations going on, Tails couldn’t help but notice that Mirage’s voice was familiar to him but couldn’t put his finger on why. He was somewhat nervous to approach her, not because he thought she was intimidating, but because he didn’t want to be rude. Eventually, the thought drove him crazy and he asked,

“Umm, Mirage?”

“Yes dear, what is it?” Mirage asked kindly, sensing Tails’ nervousness.

“I can’t help but think, you sound so familiar, but I’m having a hard time placing why. Have we met before somehow?”

“My, you are the smart one,” Mirage complimented, “As a matter of fact, we have met briefly once before.”

“We have?”

Just as Mirage once did for Amy, she put her hair back and placed a pair of glasses she had in her pocket on her face. Using her hullikensis to change her fur color and clothes.

“Recognize me now?”

“Sicilia Thorn?!”

“He recognizes you,” Sonic laughed.

“Are you two the same person or do you pretend to be her sometimes? Like a Master of disguise type thing?”

“We are the same person,” Mirage replied, “It’s a little difficult to take cases with my reputation as Mirage.”

“Understandable,” Tails smiles, “Who’s the real personality?”

“Both,” Shadow answered without hesitation. The rest of the family and Amy laughed loudly.

“He’s got you pegged for sure Mirage!” Manik teased.     

“Was Sicilia your given name?” Tails asked.

“No,” Mirage replied, “My given name was Skylar, Sicilia was my grandmother’s name. If I used my given name, then Eggman would know who I am.”

“Trust us, dear,” Sage spoke, “The last thing we need is for Eggman to know Razor’s children are alive and well.”

“No way! You guys are Razor the Hedgehog’s kids?”

“Mirage and I are,” Sonic confirmed.

“Your dad has a bad reputation,”

“We are aware,” Mirage replied.

“Did he really kill a non-christmonian who came to the Island to trade goods?”

“He did, but the story you may have heard is false,” Mirage answered.

“Dad was an enforcer, it was his job to protect the family and take over when our grandfather passed,” Sonic explained, “That man wanted gold and our grandfather was willing to trade some of it because he knew it had value to non-christmonians. However, the man was greedy and wanted all of the gold we had. To get it he kidnapped our mother, while she was pregnant and unable to use her abilities, to force our grandfather to hand it over. Mom was due to give birth any day; Dad didn’t want to kill him, but he had no choice. The man was willing to kill our Mother.”

“We didn’t use gold as currency on the island because it has more value to us as a material needed to make inhibitor rings.

“That is definitely not the story people around here have heard,”

“That doesn’t surprise us,” Mirage admitted. She was now back to her normal look.

A knock at the door surprised everyone.

“Are you expecting someone Sage?” Sonic asked.

“No one besides who is already here,” Sage answered, she walked to the door and opened it.

“Sage!” Blade called, “Something has happened.”

“What’s happened Blade?” Sage asked for clarification.

“I’m not very sure,” Blade admitted, “I’ve had a flash precognition and it was so strong that it made me feel sick to my stomach. This has never happened before, I’m very worried.”

Blade suddenly realized the whole family was over, and so were people he never saw before. “Oh, I’m sorry, do we have new Christmonians?”

“They aren’t Christmonians, but they are friends of Sonic’s,” Sage answered.

“You told non-christmonians about us?!” Blade yelled at Sonic. “After what happened?!”

“Blade, conflating what one kind of person does to the entire group they belong to is what has gotten Christmonians into trouble already. We do not need to make the same mistake, many non-christmonians do not mind us and my friends want to help The Array,” Sonic argued. Blade instantly felt guilty,

“Yes, you’re right. My apologies to you all.”

“That was close Blade, you almost made me change my mind,” Sonic teased.

“Change your mind about what?”

“Making you an enforcer,”

“Are you crazy?!” Blade exclaimed, “I can’t do stuff like Shadow and Mirage!”

“You don’t need to necessarily,” Sonic replied, “I don’t expect you to go on missions with them unless it’s dire. Shadow and Mirage have already agreed to train you, but I want you stationed at the orphanage with Sage.”

“So, you really only want me to guard the orphanage?”

“WE want you to guard the orphanage,” Sage clarified, “You have accepted leadership of the Array, Sonic and I made the initial decision together and the others approved it after it was proposed to them. Sonic was threatened directly a few days ago by someone who knew Mirage was his enforcer. We need someone who can defend the children if Mirage and Shadow are unavailable. This is your sector now too, it makes sense for it to be your responsibility.”

There was a moment of silence as Blade seemed to think about what Sage was explaining to him. He then looked to Shadow and Mirage,

“When does training start?”

“As soon as you want it to,” Shadow answered.


	21. Fruition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After three years, Shadow and Mirage's relationship strengthens, and their emotions are about to come to a head.

Three years later

Much had happened over the next few years, including there officially being two leaders per sector as Sonic instructed. Ironically, Sonic was the last to nominate someone for leadership. However, it was understandable as he always intended to ; Mirage Amy, but knew she needed time to familiarize herself with her abilities and the Array. Hoping that she might accept the leadership of The Array was part of the reason why he had assigned Mirage to be Amy’s mentor.

It was only a year prior that Amy accepted the position, but she was proving to be an exceptional leader along with all the others who had been nominated. Coincidently, all the leaders ended up in romantic relationships, with Sage and Blade being the first couple to become mates.

Shadow and Mirage were already rarely apart from one another after their symbiosis became strong. Since they had formed a romantic relationship, the two had become inseparable. On occasion, they would do solo missions, but these instances were few and far between. The couple was respectful and subdued when in public or even around their family.

Amy had once asked Mirage if Shadow was more romantic when the two were alone since she had seen very little open affection from him. Mirage assured Amy he was, and in fact almost like a different person when they were alone. Sonic on the other hand, hardly needed convincing. He remembered his grandfather well and saw many similarities between Arin and Shadow. Like Shadow, Arin was strictly business when in the public eye, but a loving man in private.

The best way to see if Arin liked you was to observe whether he listened intently to your words and carefully considered your opinion on matters before making decisions. This respect was afforded to Mirage regularly along with the rest of the leaders. There was always a softer look in Shadow’s eyes when listening to Mirage; he didn’t just respect her opinion, he valued it. For as much like Arin that Shadow was, Sonic was confident he loved Mirage deeply. Therefore, any time another member of the family had raised a concern about the two’s relationship to Sonic, he often shrugged it off. Sonic only had this issue in the first year of Mirage’s and Shadow’s relationship, the rest of the family relaxed once he reminded them that the two were private about their relationship. Just because the two wasn’t holding hands all day didn’t mean there was cause for concern.

It had been a slow week, giving Shadow and Mirage plenty of their desired alone time as of recently. The two stayed in their home mostly, enjoying the rare peace and quiet while they could. It was early, only a little after eight as Mirage made herself a cup of coffee and read over some of her attorney files. Shadow’s alarm had gone off a few minutes ago, but he hadn’t stirred. Mirage has turned it off to let him sleep in, as it was unusual for him not get up before the alarm most mornings.

Despite becoming romantically involved, Shadow remained respectful of Mirage’s personal space and has still yet to enter her bedroom for any reason. Any other couple might have been tempted to sleep together, but Shadow preferred to take the relationship slowly. He still wanted to give Mirage time to think about what she wanted from the relationship; if immortality was a burden, she was willing to bare. He was willing to wait however long it took Mirage to decide before he dared cross any lines that would lead to mating, no matter how bad he wanted that outcome.

Mirage stood at the bar that separated the kitchen and the living room. She was facing the kitchen and drinking her coffee, absorbed in the pages of her files. She was a few inches taller now, and her body had filled out a little more over the years. She no longer got the same looks from people perceiving her to be a kid. Mirage looked very much like a grown woman, now 18 years old.

Mirage was so focused on her files; she did not notice Shadow come up behind her until he had wrapped his arms around her waist.

“You turned my alarm off,” he spoke softly into Mirage’s ear.

“You was sleeping through it,” Mirage replied, “I thought you might still be tired, so I was going to let you sleep in.”

“I suppose I might have stayed up a little too late last night,”

“Something wrong?”

“Nothing to be concerned about,” Shadow addressed.

“Well, alright,”

Mirage knew there was no need to press the matter, “Do you want coffee?”

“I’ll know something is wrong if I ever wake up and the house doesn’t smell like a café.”

“Alright smart ass, I will make you something else,” Mirage replied playfully.

“It's alright, I’m only teasing you,” Shadow returned, kissing Mirage quickly on the lips, “When have I ever had a problem with coffee?”

“For someone who didn’t sleep well, you are in a surprisingly good mood,”  

Shadow didn’t comment, and there was a brief silence before the quiet was interrupted by a howling wind. “Oh, great we so desperately needed heavy snow,” Mirage said sarcastically. She loved the snow of Christmas Island, but heavy snow was always a nuisance; damaging Mirage’s wire traps.

“Did we even need an excuse to stay home today?” Shadow added.

“Not really, we didn’t have any requests today,”

“Then why are you looking through your files?”

“Because I’m bored,” Mirage answered quickly.

“I can fix that,” Shadow smiled slyly. Mirage smiled in return,

“There’s a mini blizzard outside, but you’re all hot and bothered?”

“I guess you could put it that way,”

“What’s the occasion?”

Shadow shrugged in response. There were moments when he would suddenly be more affectionate than usual, sometimes for no real reason. He was in an exceptionally good mood today; this was almost certainly another one of those times.

“I feel like I should be suspicious of how quiet things have been lately, but at the same time, I want to take advantage of it. Eventually, we are going to wake up to a request,”

“You’re right,” Mirage agreed, “its only a matter of time before its business as usual.”

Shadow was standing beside Mirage at the bar, drinking coffee with her. He glanced at her open file on the table and reached over to close it. Shadow turned around so that he could move his left hand to Mirage’s right hip and guide her to move closer to him. When she was directly in front of him, Mirage lifted her left hand to Shadow’s chest, knowing a kiss was imminent. They locked eyes with one another; barely an inch separated their faces.

“Let’s make the most of it,” Shadow kept his left hand on Mirage’s hip, but moved his right hand to caress her cheek as the couple embraced in a passionate kiss.

They moved to the living room where for most of the day, they spent time together, kissing, sharing meals and talking about various topics. There was almost nothing the two didn’t talk about at some point. As the sun set, the temperature began to drop to an uncomfortable level. The snow had stopped falling for now. However, a blanket of fresh white powder was left behind.  Shadow lit the wood in the fireplace to warm the home as Mirage fetched a blanket from her room. When she returned, Shadow was somewhat surprised she only had one with her.

“Only one?”

“One is all we need,” Mirage answered, “You don’t mind sharing, do you?”

Shadow laughed lightly, “No.”

“I didn’t think so,”

The couple cuddled under the blanket while they laid on the couch. They had done this before, except without being covered. Shadow was unsure why the idea of the blanket made this feel different. Over the last three years, he had tired his best not to cross any boundaries he thought might imply his desire to mate. Shadow loved Mirage with all his heart, and at times found himself surprised by just how much the feeling managed to grow.

Shadow wanted to mate with Mirage more than anything, but he never wanted to force that decision on her. However, lately, it was Mirage who had been initiating moments like now. Her actions made Shadow hopeful, but also nervous. He did not want to inadvertently take a mile when Mirage may just giving him an inch. At the same time, he didn’t want to confuse Mirage by making her think his feelings had changed.

Shadow took a moment to look down at Mirage. Her head and right hand were laid on his chest; his left arm was wrapped around her back and right hand, held Mirage's on his chest. The blanket was pulled up to Mirage’s shoulder and kept the couple warm in the still chilly room. Shadow is momentarily overtaken by his emotions as a profound realization of how much he loved this woman in his arms struck him. He felt as if his heart was swelling in his chest and realized that it was beginning to beat a little faster. Shadow lifted his hand from Mirage’s to stroke her hair out of her face. Mirage looked up at him,

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,”

“Your heart is racing,”

“I can’t help it,” Shadow smiled, “Maybe it wouldn’t race if you weren’t so beautiful.”

Mirage smiled, this was unusual for Shadow. This was pushing his normal behavior even for a good day. Mirage wasn’t naïve; she knew she had spurred it on by pushing his boundaries. She knew Shadow was timid about making a first move if he thought it would lead to something sexual. Mirage also knew it was because he wanted her to think carefully about what mating would mean before they made that permanent plunge. It was not at all that he did not want to mate, she knew he did, or he wouldn’t allow her to have pushed the boundary in the first place.

Mirage had made a decision already and took time to consider what she was getting herself into before now. She was ready to push both Shadow’s and her limits tonight to see how far she could get. She rolled over on top of Shadow’s chest and pulled herself up to his face, just as he had done to her earlier.

“Oh, it’s my fault, is it?” Mirage’s voice dripped with seduction; she didn’t bother hiding it. Shadow’s eyes grew wide with shock, Mirage had never done anything like this before. She was purposefully provocative and it took Shadow off guard. Mirage presses her lips against his and Shadow allows it, but once he feels her tongue touch his lips, he resists. They had kissed like that for years and even several times today, but he needed Mirage to slow down for a moment.

“Mirage!” Shadow grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back slightly. A hurt expression quickly formed on Mirage’s face and tears began to form in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” she attempted to get off of Shadow, but he grabbed her thigh to prevent her from leaving. He sat up and hugged Mirage,

“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Mirage.”

“I overstepped, I’m sorry,” a small tear escaped each eye. Shadow lifted his hands to hold Mirage’s face and wipe the tears away with his thumbs.

“It’s not like that,” Shadow assured, “You surprised me, you don’t normally act like this. What’s gotten into you?”

Mirage sighed, “Do you want this relationship to go any further?”

Shadow was confused by the question but knew he needed to answer honestly. “Mirage, there is nothing that would make me happier than to mate with you. I don’t want to rush you into that decision though. I need you to be 1000% certain it’s what you want because immortality isn’t all its cracked up to be. I love you more than I’m able to tell you. I didn’t even know I could love someone this much. You’re special, and I want you to know that, even if you don’t want to mate with me.”

A smile returned to Mirage’s face, and she attempted slowly to kiss Shadow again, this time he wholeheartedly welcomed her embrace. When they broke from the kiss, Shadow could tell there was something Mirage wanted to say and was working up the nerve to speak.

“I… I haven’t stopped thinking about it since you gave me the journal. I understand what I’m getting myself into. I’m comfortable with my decision because I know I’m not ever going to be alone in this world. I’ll always have you, and that’s all I need.”

“So, you were trying to get me to mate with you?” Shadow almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Not necessarily, but I wouldn’t mind if it happened. I made my decision a while ago,”

Shadow was momentarily left speechless; three years didn’t seem long enough to him. Then he remembered, three years was likely more than enough time for someone like Mirage. She didn’t seem to have rushed into the decision or start provoking him right away.

“You-You're sure?” he asked in disbelief.

“One-thousand percent,” Mirage replied confidently. Shadow suddenly got carried away with excitement and laid Mirage onto her back and got on top of her. “Hold on,” Mirage called.

“Sorry, I got carried away,”

“It’s alright,” Mirage replied, “I just thought if we’re going to do this, there would be more room in my bed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will contain sexual content. It will be self-contained for those of you who may wish to skip it.


End file.
